


Eyes

by YunaBlaze



Category: Deus Ex (Video Games), Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Genre: During/Post Mankind Divided, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Light Swearing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11703027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunaBlaze/pseuds/YunaBlaze
Summary: Eyes had always been call the windows to one's soul, but to one James "Jim" Miller, he found only the worst things in them. Until one night, he finally saw a soul behind a pair of augmented eyes...





	Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot I have been working on since before Christmas. Life, school and writer's block have been plentiful on my plate, but I have managed to conquer them and finally post my first official oneshot. Yes, it's probably a weird pairing, but I guess I like to over-read things in that one scene in Mankind Divided.
> 
> I like to thank inbatcountry17 who has given me the support needed to complete this story.
> 
> And don't know if that matters anymore, but for safety purpose, I'll say spoiler alert.

 

 

Eyes

  
People always said that eyes were the window to one’s soul, revealing the purest part of the person. To one James “Jim” Miller, he always considered that notion to be a load of crap. It was not that he had anything against his elders. No, he was a very respectful and obedient child, he just did not believe in the sentimentality his mother tried to instill in him. He would always hide his scoff whenever she told him, with great certainty on her part, that he would one day see what she had seen the moment she met his father. Mother had kept telling him that he would experience it too, for it would come to him when the time was right.

Sadly, to Miller, there was no such fantasy in reality. Not when he was staring through the sniper scope of his weapon on the battlefield, when he was getting a promotion for his skills and bravery, not even when he was standing in front of the altar with his soon-to-be husband before him. The eyes had shown him nothing of what she had been telling him, they only revealed to him hatred, resentment, despair and sadness. There was nothing pure about them, they were nothing but tainted black holes.

It was inevitable for a man in his line of work to find hatred, resentment and despair wherever he went. After all, working for Australian Tactical Assault Group had ensured that he would have no shortage of enemies. His job also kept him so busy that he spent more time at base than at home, his long absence soon drew the ire of his husband, Neil would constantly complain about his detachment from the family. Back when they were only dating, Neil was much more understanding and accepting, he seemed to capable to find reasons for his lateness and missed dates, but now that they had a family to look after, his priorities were focused solely on their children. Gone was the look of understanding, resentment was the only thing he found in those brown-coloured irises of his husband and then despair and sadness were all that were left in those eyes the day he signed the divorce papers. He had long accepted that that story about eyes would remain as nothing than a little fantasy his mother had made up.

***

Part of him knew that he was holding Neil back from the happiness he desired, so he chose to grant him the freedom he more than deserved, but he did not abandon his rights to his two children, Susie and Ethan, despite the fact that his ex-husband had more or less banned him from seeing them. The divorce did not stop Neil from throwing him the bad news about Susie’s deteriorating health and the matter of the surgery she would require, but he could not discuss this with him, not when he had known and seen the consequences of being an augmented person. Prague had shown him the assortment of problems that Augs had to face daily: physical intimidations and unjust persecutions. What his ex-husband was demanding of him was for him to pick which sort of pain Susie would have to suffer for the rest of her life and she was only seven. How could any parent choose in the stead of their little girl what pain she would have to suffer for the rest of her life? To either lose control over her body little by little and being in great pain for the rest of her life or having augmentations that would save her from the pain and turning her as an outcast by the current society for those very augmentations that would save her life? Jim couldn’t decide and he was afraid to make that decision, so he chose to coldly reject this conversation with Neil.

He couldn’t face the cruel fact of his daughter’s suffering from the Paget’s disease, so he chose to drown himself in his works. Being Director of one Task Force 29 branches assured that he would have no time to think about it until he was dead on his feet, adding the recent events that had happened, he was pretty much running on fumes half of the time. The surprise third party attack during Operation Bladedancer in Dubai, the terrorist bombing at Růžička train station, Talos Rucker’s death, the fallout in Golem City and then this whole conspiracy theory that led to G.A.R.M. facility in the Swiss Alps. One man was right in the middle of this whole mess, Adam Jensen. 

If Miller was being honest, he did not see much benefit in keeping a loose-cannon like Jensen around, even though he had proven that his augmentations turned him into a capable one-man army for any situation. First job on the field after his transfer from the States to the Central Europe division and the augmented agent had already disobeyed a direct order to be on standby on the rooftop for the duration of the operation. Left and right, front and back, that man had been accusing him of different conspiracies and even openly stated how he disregarded the lives of augmented people in some of their operations. For some reasons, his words stung more than it should. Perhaps it was because part of him knew that everything Jensen said was right, but to be fair, he had nothing against augmented civilians, the only thing he had against them were the methods some of them used to get their message across, through acts of terrorism. 

Despite all the hell and troubles that he could create in the short span of a few months, Jim had to admit that he was first and foremost a good man. Agent Jensen cared about people as much as he did, he wanted to save lives more than ending them and he was more humane than many were in their line of works. Perhaps that was the reason why they clashed so much at work sometimes, because he was a good man before he was a good soldier while Miller was his exact opposite, a good soldier first and a good man last. However, recent incidents had shaken the faith of the good soldier in him. Something was off since the debacle at Dubai and it became more apparent when his boss, Joseph Manderley, had ordered him to pin both the incident of Dubai and the Růžička bombing onto the Augmented Rights Coalition along with a certain break-in incident with the American Branch of VersaLife. While Růžička was a possibility, the mercenaries in Dubai, these gold-masked Augs, were too well-armed and equipped with the best military-grade augmentations for a small simple organization such as A.R.C. to actually be able to acquire. Also, A.R.C. did not operate in the United States, tying this break-in with them felt like a murder covered in blood shoving the murder weapon onto a child’s hand and pretended to be innocent. In short, it left a bad taste in his mouth.

So he had loosened his reins on Jensen when the man had decided to snoop around for the truth, something that he constantly sought, making Miller questioned what had happened to the augmented man that made him go to any length to find his answers. His profile offered no insights on this strange behaviour.

Sadly, answers were few and troubles were more than they could handle, though what ticked him off more than the lack of evidence or insight on their enemies’ plan was the fact that Jensen had broken into his apartment. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have notice anything was amiss if the family picture frame wasn’t slightly tilted to the side, he was dead tired when he managed to drag his body back to his apartment for a few short of hours of sleep, but that picture was the one thing he always went to check on before going to bed. It was one of the few things he had managed to retrieve from his home in Australia before Neil stormed in and took nearly everything that wasn’t nailed to the floor, one of the few possessions he had that reminded him of his family, of a happier time, so he paid extra attention to it. Therefore, when he noticed the tiny bit of displacement on it, he began to find other disturbances around his apartment. Such as the lack of dust on some of his bookshelves and his books, which he knew had built up since he hadn’t had time to browse through them as he usually did, and a cup with weeks-old of wine stains he had always just reused somehow ended up in the sink. He quickly went to check the secret room he had upstairs and knew that someone had gone in when the usual spot where his punch would activate the hidden switch had an unusual punched dent on it, the placement of the knuckles was oddly square-shaped. An Aug had slipped into his home. As he checked through his private laptop to make sure there weren’t any bugs left behind or files being taken, he recalled his mental list of items he had left stored within the room and found that there only one thing was amiss: his Neural SubNet access card.

Seeing nothing else was taken from the room, he concluded that this break-in came from the one man who had been nothing but a thorn to his side since his transfer. He kept muttering curses under his breath as he marched his way back to his office, where he would have a better connection to Jensen’s infolink, he knew this little thievery also meant that Jensen was suspecting something was up with the higher-ups in TF29. The order from Manderley had been ringing alarm bells in the back of his mind since his last connection in the NSN and it turned into a blaring one when his access was blocked in his search for a report on the VersaLife break-in, but he would rather the agent confronted him directly for answers than bloody went through his things behind his back, seeing that direct confrontation was something he had no trouble in doing before this whole mess. Miller just did not expect to hear from Chang that he had lost contact with both the augmented agent and his pilot when he stepped into his office. Quickly, he checked the unit system that monitored each agent’ status on the field, all TF29 field agents were required to have the monitor chip on them, pulling up Jensen’s and Chikane’s revealed that both of them had been disconnected from their system. He quickly ordered Chang to check the connections to see if it was a hardware or software problem while he attempted to contact Jensen through his infolink. So far, none of his calls was able to connect. 

That guy might be a pain in the neck on the good days and made him wished he could just strangle him to death on the bad ones, but he was still one of his men. Gripping his phone tighter than he should, he continued with his tries as he cursed himself for allowing Jensen to go in on his own, seeing that the man had a knack in getting into troubles and this was supposed to be a simple and short recon mission! 

He growled angrily when his call got disconnected once more before he barked into his computer at Chang who still hadn’t figured out what was jamming the connection. The director was about to tear a new hide off of the Asian technician when his phone rang, checking the ID caller, Miller barely suppressed the sigh of relief that escaped from him when the name Jensen flashed in bright green letters and he quickly picked up the call.

‘Miller, it’s Jensen,’ the augmented man started, voice sounding a little breathless and there seemed to be many interferences coming from the background. ‘I can’t get a rise from Chikane.’

‘Jensen? What’s happened?’ he instantly demanded as he checked the unit monitor once more. Jensen’s signal was back online, but it was weak, which meant something was still jamming it. Chikane’s was still offline.

‘Walked into an ambush,’ Jensen answered. ‘Chikane could be in trouble.’

‘Fuck,’ Miller cursed aloud, he put his phone on speaker and set it aside as he inputted a new set of commands into the system. While Chikane’s monitor chip might be offline, his VTOL had an emergency frequency that he could perhaps track down and use to communicate with the pilot. ‘I’ll see if I can raise him. Was it Marchenko?’

The background noises dimmed slightly and metallic thuds resounded from his phone as the agent replied, ‘Him and the gold-masked mercs from Dubai. They’re in together, posing as A.R.C. Machenko admitted poisoning Rucker.’

The director of Prague’s TF29 narrowed his eyes at the new information as some pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into places. Jensen had mentioned that Rucker had suspected someone inside his organization was behind the bombing of Růžička and was using A.R.C. as a smokescreen to cover their track. With Rucker dead, Marchenko had eliminated his one obtacle in controlling A.R.C. and could easily manipulate the organization to take a more hostile approach. While keeping armed police force and the taskforce soley focused on A.R.C., he could secretly complete whatever agenda he had. Miller thought back to the Rucker’s evidence that Jensen had handed to him when he had returned from Golem City.

‘I’ll call Lyon, see how quickly he can get a team there. You, stay low and find the exit,’ Miller ordered, hoping to dear god that the augmented man would listen for once. With Chikane still out of the picture, even if he managed to get another VTOL readied with a pilot, it would still take four hours to reach him in the Swiss Alps. While Lyon might be capable director, even he couldn’t possibly get a team readied within an hour, it would probably take at least two hours to gear up everybody and arrive at G.A.R.M. facility.

‘Copy that. But–these guys think I’m dead. Maybe I should take advantage of that and have a peek around. Find out more about them...’ The agent ended the call before Miller could add another word.

Miller slammed a fist next to his phone in frustration as he let out a tired sigh. This was going to be one of those days he wished he could bloody strangle the life out of Jensen. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he set himself back to work. He still had two agents out there and he would much prefer they both came back in one piece, even if one of them seemed to have a death wish.

***

**Five hours later...**

**Prague. TF29 Headquarter.**  

Miller was resting his eyes as he rested his forehead against his hand with his elbows planted solidly on the desk, half of his body hunched over it. It was the longest five hours of his life, it was as if Hell had suddenly washed over Prague with the intent to drown him in it and it was still far from being over. Now he was resting as much as he possibly could before the next catastrophe came knocking, not like the Prague Police Department hadn’t been causing enough chaos on their own with their martial law. The entire city had plunged back into the Dark Age by it, the police was so trigger-happy that they would arrest and shoot anyone who so much as peeked outside their window, whether they were augmented or not. Some of the non-essential staff of TF29 had even came back to base for a safe haven. To make things worse, Lyon had just sent him a report of his team’s search in G.A.R.M. and it ended badly, the gold-masked mercenaries had long cleared the facility out by the time he and his team had arrived and had even taken time to lay a few traps behind for them.

The only good news he had received within this period was that Jensen and Chikane were both on their way back home, both safe and unharmed. They should be back within the hour, but his worry did not lessen in the slightest, it had only grown as time passed.

The result from the pocket secretary analysis came up empty and they couldn’t track it back to the sender’s IP address, but Chang had discovered that whatever program was used to protect the information and the identity of the sender was similar to one of the firewall codes TF29 used. This news did not bode well to any of them. The initials of the sender also plagued him, JM. Miller was worried that the full name that came from those initials might be Joseph Manderley, in other word his superior and the head of Taskforce 29. If that was true, then this web of conspiracy Jensen suspected might reach farther than he had initially anticipated. Sadly, he had no proof to support it, but his boss’ possible involvement made certain things clearer, such as the reason why Joe had forced this mission onto him and his team at the last minute despite the fact that Lyon’s people in Oman would have easily reach Dubai at the short notice, the military grade augmentations the mercenaries possessed and the ransacking on the weapon deal in Dubai. The mission was highly classified information that few in TF29 even had a file on, yet these gold-masked men knew when and where the deal would take place like he and his team did. When they had failed to acquire the weapons they needed, they switched their tactic and eliminated the head of A.R.C., so that their mole, Marchenko, could assume the seat of power and used it as a front to keep the authority off their track while using A.R.C. as a cover for their operation. All these incidents seemed to be only a stepping-stone for another event, one that they had yet to uncover or even understand the true goal behind their attacks. 

_What the hell have tangle yourself in James?_ The old soldier thought tiredly to himself before he leaned back against his seat. _What the hell has Jensen pull me into?_

Still he could not blame everything on Jensen, the man’s stubbornness had brought light on problems that he had been suppressing since Operation Bladedancer, perhaps futilely hoping his instinct was wrong was a more apt description of his thoughts at the time. Now all they could do was wait and react against this threat. His tired eyes went to the screen that displayed the unfinished chess game, finding it an appropriated reflection of his current situation, unable to make a move and the field filled with uncertainty. Hopefully, Jensen had some new information on their enemy’s plan, so they could get ahead of Marchenko instead of running blindly after the man’s trail. They could only do so much by just reacting.

Miller looked up at the hissing sound of his door sliding open, a small weight was lifted from his shoulder when Jensen stepped in and looked no worse for wears, though it was sometimes difficult to tell with the agent. Usually he could get an accurate read or two on people, even those who had the best poker face, but Jensen seemed to be on his own unique league and his retractable sunglasses were making it even more difficult. Eyes might not be windows to their soul, but they were the main weak spot in reading a person’s motive and Jensen made sure they were well covered to prevent it. Still, if he managed to get here, despite the lockdown that was going on upstairs, he shouldn’t be injured too badly. He knew he should at least get someone to check him for injuries or needs for repairs, but they did not have much time to lose, so he had to soldier on, they both had to.

‘Jensen,’ he greeted as he stood up and the Aug approached him, he ignored the small vertigo feeling he got from just getting up from his seat and willed away the fatigue that had been plaguing him. ‘Thank god, I was starting to get worry.’

‘That I wouldn’t make in here? Or that I actually would?’ Jensen questioned almost accusingly.

‘What? I’ve been on the phone for the last half hour trying to guarantee your safe passage through this city,’ the older man replied, slightly taken aback at the cold tone directed at him. ‘Whatever you stumbled into G.A.R.M. is big–’

‘I know,’ the Aug interjected. ‘I’ve been trying to find out how big for a long time.’ Then, like a crack from a damp, raw anger poured out of the agent in small waves. ‘They knew I was coming. Marchenko and the Gold Masks from Dubai. Somebody tipped them off!’ 

The anger from the Aug was slowly affecting him as well as Miller demanded, ‘Are you accusing me?’ 

Miller was not sure what truly angered him, the fact that he was seen as a suspect by his subordinate or the fact that Jensen believed that he was the type of man who would willingly send his own men into an ambush. After all those times he had willingly placed his trust in him and allowed him to try things his ways, he still didn’t trust him enough to return it.

The agent continued, ‘When I left here, you, me, and Chikane were the only ones who knew what I’d discovered. Solid proof that someone other than A.R.C. was involved in this. But you and your bosses have been trying to pin everything on them, right from the start–’

‘You’re out of line, Jensen,’ he interrupted with a wave of his hand and a tired sigh. ‘I sent you after to A.R.C. because they were viable suspect in the train station attack.’ 

‘And because Manderly ordered you to do it,’ Jensen added bitingly.

Brown eyes narrowed at the mention of his boss name as their owner inwardly thought. _So that’s why you’ve stolen my NSN card. Smart on your part, but you’re barking up at the wrong tree._

‘Yes, he ordered me to do it,’ he admitted and quickly pinned the man with a cold stare when his body language showed signs of wanting to press on with his admission. It was almost ironic that their current discussion mirrored the one he had with Manderley in the NSN. Only difference between that conversation and this one was that he wanted to get to the bottom of this case while his boss just wanted to close file as soon as possible. ‘But unlike him, I will not ignore evidence to close case! You’ve been nothing but an insubordinate cock-up since Manderley put you in this unit!’

Miller mentally kicked himself for losing his temper there, because the last sentence was uncalled for. He blamed his slip-up on his lack of sleep and his pent-up frustration he had built up from problems that came from both his personal and professional life. He was so deep in his thoughts that he had almost missed what Jensen had said, judging from his posture, shock seemed to be the case. Curious, it seemed that he did not know it was Manderley who had approved of his transfer.

‘It was his signature on the transfer papers! I checked!’ he added as an afterthought before the agent decided to bulldoze him with more accusations or questionings. He quickly took a deep breath to calm himself as he gathered his composure, mentally refocusing on their current imminent task at hand. Getting angry at each other would not solve anything, not when they needed to stick together. His nowadays conversations with Neil had taught him that well enough, they had just never reached a consensus. ‘I can’t believe we’re arguing over this. Not when we need to focus.’ 

The agent shrugged at his words, though he remained silent. They had worked together long enough for Miller to understand that that was Jensen’s way of saying that he was not pleased with how things were but he would listen to him, they would just have to continue this another time.

Good enough for him, he recapped everything he had information over the last five hours. ‘Chikane debriefed me while you were flying back. Lyon sent in a strike team, got there about an hour after you two slipped out.’

‘And the mercs were gone,’ Jensen finished with a scowl.

Miller nodded in affirmation as he continued, ‘Did a pretty good job at trashing the place before bugging out, and left a few booby-traps behind. So we have no idea where they went or what they’re planning next.’

‘Not necessarily,’ the Aug started. ‘I heard Marchenko talking to his men. He said something about finalizing a deal with the Dvali.’

Finally, some new updates on their enemy and they did not act fast. They’d lost enough time as it was. The older man took out his phone and started dialling the Chief of Police’s number as he said, ‘We need to move on this now. I’ll get a warrant for that old Dvali-owned theatre on Za Diviadlem Street.’

If the Dvalis were in on this, they would find whatever plan Marchenko had been plotting in that old theatre, seeing that that was the main base of operations for the head of the Dvalis, Radich Nikoladze, who never did any businesses with anybody unless he knew what he was dealing with in full details. In addition, if Lady Luck was on their side, this might be a chance for them to knock a peg down or two on this crime family in Prague, killing two birds with one stone. First thing first, he needed to make sure that Jensen made it there safely without worrying about trigger-happy police. He doubted he made it back here without bumping into a small squad on his way and this was no short walk from the park. It might take some time to secure a safe passageway, but he would not risk his man’s life, not after what had happened in the G.A.R.M. facility.

‘You really think we have time for a search warrant?’ the augmented agent asked with a tilt of his head and skepticism dripping off from each of his words. 

Honestly, Miller vowed that they were going to have a long conversation concerning his own personal safety, because Jensen displayed an extreme lack of self-preservation in that head of his. If he didn’t know any better, he would say he wanted to get kill. That or he had a love for the thrill of danger. Either way, this was concerning and it made him questioned if Delara Auzenne was even a bloody competent psychiatrist to begin with, seeing that no agent or even himself got the all clear from a shrink within the day. Well, he had actually stormed out of her office once she started poking him with information she got on his family. The Branch Director quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind before he truthfully answered, ‘No. But with the city under lockdown, I can’t guarantee you’ll make it to the Red Light District alive.’

‘I got here, didn’t I? Nobody’s killed me yet.’

That was either the most arrogant thing Jensen had ever uttered in his presence or an indirect confession of his desire for death. He was about to ignore his subordinate’s words when his phone displayed the disconnection of his call, causing his lips to turn into a thin straight line as he grounded his teeth together. Of all the times the Chief decided to ignore his calls because of his stupid and petty pride, it had to be in the middle of an imminent crisis. He could always insist on waiting for a search warrant, one he doubted he was ever going to receive tonight or any time soon and time was on their side in this hunt.

‘Alright fine, I won’t stop you,’ Miller reluctantly relented as he pocketed his phone, it was useless to try to convince Adam anyway, he might just slip out on his own with no backups and ceased all communication with TF29 to continue his investigation. ‘Just be careful out there, Jensen. Let me know what you find.’

‘Copy that,’ Jensen replied before he left his office. 

Miller returned to his seat before he added softly, ‘Stay safe.’

Suddenly, he realized what his ex-husband must have been feeling every time he had to utter those two words to him whenever he had received a new mission from his superiors and walked out of the house, feeling completely helpless and worrying for his safety.

Miller quickly pushed the thought away, not wanting to fall into another pit hole of nostalgia, though he wryly remarked at the fact that Jensen seemed to have a knack at making him realized things that he had never paid attention. He was uncertain whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

*** 

**Two days later...**

**London.**  

Miller was really starting to question why he had even bloody accepted this position to begin with, because it was starting to turn into a ridiculous game of red tapes when it wasn’t supposed to be. First, he had to deal with Manderley’s lecture of him abandoning his post, which he did not. He had ordered Chang to directly report to him if anything happened, he had also left more than a few able men and women behind to take care of things and to respond to whatever emergency situation that might occurred while he and his strike teams headed out to London. Now he was dealing with a politician who had refused to cancel the convention and had currently put everyone attending it in danger. Hell, even the civilians who lived there might be at stake. After all, if the explosion in Růžička station was only a diversion, who knew how many innocent lives they were willing to take to eliminate Brown and his guests.

God, when Jensen had told him that Marchenko’s target was Nathaniel Brown and that they would strike the Safe Harbour Convention, he, Macready and the rest of the strike teams had all readied to head out. He had instantly contacted the director of the London Division to contact the CEO of Santeau Group and get him to cancel the convention. Sadly, their warnings fell into deaf ears.

Now here he was, on his way to the Apex Centre and he was still stuck in the same damned argument he had almost twelve hours ago. He was getting nowhere and neither were his strike teams. Apparently, Mr. Brown had taken every precaution to assure his safety and that of his guests for tonight, so his teams were not needed. He had only allowed the London Division to be on standby outside of the Apex Centre, because he did not need them to spread panic amongst his guests with their presence.

As he listened to Director William talking about his own frustration with Nathaniel Brown’s refusal, Miller spared a glance at Jensen who sat at the back of the VTOL, his face was as grim as those of his comrades if not more sombre than theirs. He had been wearing that look since he had arrived at the main hanger. He might not be able to understand his situation completely, but he could relate it. After all, the Safe Harbour Convention might be the last thing that was preventing the Human Restoration Act from passing, if the United Nations Security Council approved it, then it would permanently segregate augmented and non-augmented people and augmentations would be nothing but a distant memory in history books. While this meant he might not need to make a choice for Susie’s condition, he could not take away her chance for a healthy life and the thought of her being torn away from them just because she had the augs that saved her life was unacceptable too. He would fight to the end to keep that from happening, to give her a chance and to others who were in a similar situation.

‘Fine. Fine!’ Miller interrupted as calmly as he could, because this loop they were stuck in would not solve their current problem. He might as well as accept it and planned the next move after meeting with Brown. ‘Have your men pull back until I talk to him myself. Miller out.’

He shut his phone with a grimace before he faced Macready and told him, ‘Change of plans. Macready, you and your team will rendezvous with our London division. Secure the perimeter until I tell you to come back in.’ Turning towards the only augmented occupant in the aircraft. ‘Jensen, you and I are going on the roof.’

‘Is there a problem?’ he asked, though the small hint of resignation in his tone made it sounded more like he was asking how bad was the problem than what was the problem. The Director of Prague division believed that he already knew how bad it was, seeing that whenever he was single out in a mission, the situation he could find himself in was dire and often pitted him with dangerous foes coming from all sides.

‘Wrap it up gentlemen. Approaching the target building now,’ Chikane voice announced through the intercom.

Miller let out a quiet sigh as he moved to the back of the VTOL, giving Jensen’s shoulder a small encouraging pat on his way before he told him, ‘Get your coat, you’re going to need it.’

He knew very well that he was running Jensen into the ground. He hadn’t given him any time to rest up or check his augs when they were changing transport at the main hanger. He could not ask Macready or anyone else to go with him, seeing that their host refused to let any armed soldier within the building, which left him with no choice other than to pick the one man in the team who had enough concealed weapons on him to take out a small private army. Besides, after everything he had been through to get the information, he doubted the agent would be willing to sit back and wait with the rest of the strike teams, he would probably insist in coming along to see this through and he had every right to it.

He used the access panel on the side to connect the communication line of all three VTOLs before he turned around to face the entire team as he announced, ‘I don’t have to tell you what’s happening, you know the drill. There are people down there – radical, augmented people – who’ve been sidelined by this world and who think the only way to stop the oppression is by tearing down everything in their way. Their grievances may be just. Maybe they should be heard! But never on these terms. The world may be going to shit, but we’re here to stand against the chaos. Every one of the guests down there are counting on us to keep them safe. Let’s make sure we do.’

Everyone gave him a nod in affirmation before the VTOL landed. As he and Adam got off the aircraft, they spotted a group of dark-suited bodyguards approaching them and in the middle of the group was the CEO of the Santeau Group himself. Chikane departed to rejoin the rest of the strike force as Mr. Brown left the tightly knitted group of bodyguards and greeted him, ‘Director Miller? I’m Nathaniel Brown. Thank you for agreeing to handle this discreetly.’

Miller’s eyes narrowed slightly as he countered, ‘We didn’t exactly have a choice. You threatened to invoke the Corporate Sovereignty Act.’

It used to be so much simpler when it was simply countries, at least people knew where the boarders were, but with the Corporate Sovereignty Act, the United Nations Security Council had allowed corporations to have a represented seat in the council. They received full benefits from the UNSC, like they were a small country themselves, but their boarder was unseen and broader than a country’s territory. If Brown had invoked the Act, TF29’s hands would be tie-up for good, they would be forced to comply and send home packing. In short, this man was making things difficult with his seat of power in the UNSC.

‘I gave your London division a full day to sweep for explosives, they found nothing,’ Santeau Group’s CEO pointed out.

‘It’s not just bomb we’re concerned with,’ the Director stated calmly. It was true. Director William’s teams had not been able to find the explosives that Allison Stanek, the bomb-maker, had created in the building, but he wouldn’t be too confident about it. There was also the Orchid, a powerful poison of sort according to the encrypted message and Fletcher’s analysis on Rucker’s blood tox turned up more bad news. Something that they needed to be wary of, seeing that they did not have an antidote of any kind for it. Marchenko was not leaving anything to chance in this operation of his, if their bombing plan failed, they could always count on the poison to finish the job for them and vice versa.

‘I’ve also replaced all the food and beverage, brought in extra guards from Tarvos Security Services, and ordered the men to work with your team when it arrives. Trust me, I’m taking this threat very seriously,’ Mr. Brown told them confidently.

Miller glanced at Jensen at the mention of Tarvos Security Services. He did recall having yelled at Chang and Jensen once he had discovered they had broken into Tarvos’ headquarters to look for some information concerning the bomber that one of the employees had stolen from the train station and corrupted the local files before the police quarantined the whole place. While Jensen had not left any trace that would led back to TF29, the fact that he had broke into the place instead of getting a goddamned search warrant and Chang had even bloody withheld this piece of information that was supposed to be handed to him made him questioned why he was stuck with the worse bunch of bad apples in human history. Still, their little stunt had proven that the so-called best private security corporation had enough flaws for outsiders to exploit. Brown was putting too much faith on them and underestimating their enemy.

‘Then why not cancel the event?’ the augmented agent demanded bluntly.

‘This isn’t the first time extremists have threatened to tear down the Safe Harbour Initiative,’ Brown calmly explained. ‘Pro-Aug supporters we’re profiting from their misery, promoting more failures like Golem City. While Anti-Aug racists can’t stand the thought of any augmented person living in peace. Cancelling this event will only embolden them all.’

Miller was inwardly wondering if Director William had even tried to make the politician understand that the enemy he was currently facing was not his ordinary day-to-day extremists, who either rioted out on the street or came in solo during a conference to spill threats at him. They were terrorists who had no problem with collateral damage. Brown was obviously not taking this as serious as he wanted them to believe.

‘The men planning to attack here tonight are no ordinary extremists. They murdered Talos Rucker,’ Jensen informed the Santeau CEO in his usually calm and almost detached demeanour. Now that Miller could freely observe his subordinate, he recalled only seeing this side of him when Jensen had first joined this division, that was his day-to-day attitude towards almost everything. It was only about a month or two ago that his stoic demeanour had faded and got replaced by a more vocal persona. ‘And they want to frame the Augmented Rights Coalition if their attack tonight succeeds.’

‘Is this true?’ Brown asked him before he returned his attention on the Aug. ‘How do you know it?’

‘How doesn’t matter,’ Miller interjected as subtly as he could manage, seeing that they did not have any actual proof to support them, other than Jensen’s words and the information his “Sarif days” contact had unearthed, possibly attained illegally. They would cross that bridge after this crisis was over and done with. ‘We’re here because of a credible threat against you and your Safe Harbour Convention.’

‘These men are out to stop you. They know you’ve been campaigning against the Human Restoration Act. They need it to pass,’ the Agent added as his tone got more and more heated with each word. ‘They don’t care how many lives they destroy as long as that happens. But we do.’

The Director glanced at Jensen with a slightly worried look at his last comment. It seemed that the train station attack had affected the augmented agent more than he let others know. This little fact made him questioned Auzenne’s competency even further, because she was obviously not doing her job if she hadn’t helped the man to get through the incident and simply gave him the all-clear to start working. He needed to remind himself to ask for another psychiatrist when he returned to TF29, to Hell with Joe’s recommendation.

‘It’s... Agent Jensen, isn’t it?’ Brown said as his eyes widened slightly in recognition of the name, making Miller cast a curious glance at the politician, seeing that he did not recall seeing anything in the agent’s file that indicated he had any contact with the Santeau Group before and they had never met until tonight. ‘David Sarif told me about you. You might not believe this, Agent, but I’m also trying to save lives tonight. The lives of your people. Several members of the U.N. Security Council are on my guest list tonight. I plan to convince them just how wrong the Act really is. Talos Rucker couldn’t stop it from passing. But I can.’

Yes, and this is what got you targeted. Now we’ve U.N.S.C. members on board too. God, if we don’t stop this attack, the backlash is going to be Hell to deal with.  Miller inwardly thought as he quickly redirected this whole conversation back to their problem at hands, which was a terrorist attack. ‘Where are you meeting them?’

‘In a secure conference room, off the Reception Hall,’ Nathaniel Brown answered. ‘Men from your London division have already cleared it.’

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Miller replied with a shake of his head as he began planning how to proceed from here. For now, with only him and Jensen in the area, he would check the conference room himself and keep a close eye on the attendees while Jensen would check in with Tarvos Security and make sure their security measures were up to date, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Aug, seeing that he did work as the Head of Security for Sarif Industries before he joined Interpol. Afterwards, he would need him to start sweeping the area and he would probably find what the London division missed. He would also call in Mac to double check the Apex building, though they would have to do that in a subtler manner than they were used to. At least, if either of them found anything was amiss, they would still have backup. ‘I want to see this myself. And I want Agent Jensen here to coordinate with Tarvos Security, while the rest of my team re-examines the building. Discreetly, of course.’

While Brown looked displeased at his suggestion, he nonetheless complied with his demand as he told Jensen, ‘The head of our Tarvos division is Liam Slater. He’s waiting for your man to join him in the Central Security Office.’

Thankful that he got the cooperation they needed, Miller quickly ordered his subordinate to meet up with Slater and with a promise to keep him and Macready in the loop. The last thing he needed was him going sole again. With the roles in this operation settled, he followed the Santeau CEO to the conference room.

***

**15 minutes later...**

James Miller was really tempted to curse on the top of lungs, because their whole planning had gone down the drain before they had even started. Tarvos Security was compromised, pretty much all of its employees were all dead, and the gold-masked men had infiltrated its ranks long before they had even arrived. Now their armed enemies were freely circulating amongst the guests and their host. If they weren’t careful they might start serving lead for snack. The Director quickly shook his head to rid of the morbid thoughts, because he needed to focus on his current task right now, which was to get Brown out of here. The fastest path to reach the Santeau CEO was through the Catering Area, he should be able to reach the elevator that led to the Reception Hall in less than 15 minutes, so long that the path was not swamped by gold-masked mercenaries in every corner. The moment the door cut off the sounds of the party’s music and guests’ chatter, Miller took out the pistol he kept with him as he carefully moved through the surprisingly empty corridor.

That’s strange. Jensen says that they are near the Catering Area. Where are they now? The old soldier thought as he pressed his side against the wall with his weapon at ready while his free hand went for the doorknob. Carefully, he pushed the door opened and cautiously stepped into the room, eyes and pistol swept over the place, but there was not a soul in sight. A frown settled over his face at the deafening silence.

Then a faint click sounded behind him.

Miller quickly ducked and managed to evade the surprise attack from the gold-masked mercenary whose Glass-Shield Cloaking System dropped, without wasting a second, he quickly put two bullets into the joint of the augmented limbs, paralyzing the Aug. Sadly, with his focus on his assailant, he failed to notice his companion was coming up from behind him until he felt sharp blow on the back of his head. He bit his lips to stifle his cry of pain as he kept his fingers on his pistol and forced his body to turn around, with full intention to shoot to kill, but the hit had left him disoriented and his reflex was slower than that of the enhanced mercenary who landed another punch on the side of his face as he turned before he kicked him over the stomach, sending flying against the refrigerator.

His gun slipped from his lax fingers as his vision blurred and darkened. Most of his senses went numb as he landed on the floor. The only sensations that remained with him were the taste of copper on his tongue and the burn from his injuries. Despite his body screamed at him to hold still to minimize the pain, he still tried to get back up to fight and only got another punch in the face for his effort. The hit left him further disoriented and bordered unconsciousness.

His vision was unfocused and swamped with black spots and every noise in the room was either muffled or distorted, but he could still make out some of the words coming from his attackers. One was obviously cursing him in Czech for damaging his legs. Suddenly he picked up from his spot and the second attacker muttered to him mockingly in a thick accented voice, ‘Have a drink old man.’

Before he realized what the man meant, a metal hand clasped his jaw and forced his mouth open, soon liquid poured down his throat. Instinctively, his hands went to claw the arm that held his mouth open, but in his weakened state and the fact that the arm was an augmentation, it did not stop the gold-masked mercenary from trying to drown him with… champagne?

He quickly coughed out whatever liquid that was still stuck in his throat once the bottle was emptied, his attacker shove the back of his head against the refrigerator before he went back to his cussing companion’s side and confidently told him, ‘No need to waste more time on that one, he’ll be dead soon enough. The Orchid will finish him and the target for us.’

Miller’s mind blanked for a second as the last words sank its poison fangs into his mind and his eyes slipped close.

He was going to die...

Not dying in a fight or even on a hospital bed...

He was just going to die here...

Alone...

Alone...

Alone...

The word echoed in his mind.

He wanted to laugh. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. As realization crashed onto him with a magnitude that rivalled that of a tsunami, he was on his own... and there was no one to blame for that but himself. Here at the end of his life, he realized that his loneliness was caused by him. He got disconnected with his mother after his father’s death, distancing himself from her he got enrolled into the army. He barely kept in touch with her and even less after the wedding with Neil until the very day she had left the world too. Then he got so focused on his job that he began neglecting the family he and Neil started.

He just ruined everything, because he was running away from his problems. He didn’t want to face the fact that his father was gone, so he buried it deep and pretended that it did not affect him. He didn’t want to share his pain with his parent, so he ignored most of her calls and the few times he actually listened, he just cut off whenever she mentioned father. He thought he was doing fine, seeing that he managed to find love and someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The truth was he was anything but fine. When his mother past away, he just shut himself off again and kept Neil out of his internal turmoil too, barely letting Susie and Ethan in whose innocence kept them from asking questions that would poke his emotional wounds. To deal with the pain and to escape from his ex-husband’s constant worry gaze, he just threw himself into work. In the end, he ended up hurting everyone who ever cared about him.

He really thought that he got everything back under control after the divorce and when he signed up for Taskforce 29, then Susie’s health declined and Neil’s frequent calls for him to sign the form for the augmentation operation. He pushed away every helpful advice or friendly suggestion from his friends and comrades that came to him and simply forced himself to work, to escape from his problems.

He repeated his mistake for the last time...

Maybe...

This was a befitting end for a lone wolf like him...

Giving him enough time to contemplate on his past mistakes and to regret them…

To accept his failures before his death.

At least...

He wouldn’t be hurting others again...

No one was going to get hurt by his actions again...

No one...

No...

...

...

...

‘–dy! Miller’s hurt–back-up in the catering–’

Miller struggled to get his eyes to open. When his eyelids finally pulled up, his unfocused eyes found a familiar trench coat and black augmented limbs as he breathed out, ‘Jensen? Christ.’

It was starting to be a bit more difficult to breathe, though he forced himself to focus on the augmented agent and ignored the burning pain that crawled all over his body.

‘Don’t try to move, Jim,’ Jensen softly told him as Miller’s vision became less blurry and soon his eyes found those of the augmented ones. For a moment there, he was pretty sure that the Orchid had done more damage to his brain than the rest of his body, because the person kneeling in front of him couldn’t be Jensen. Not the Adam Jensen he knew. The guy who seemed to have a permanent frown plastered over his face and barely ever showed any emotions other than annoyance in the last six months he had been in TF29. Now... it was like he was staring at a complete stranger. ‘Help should be on its way soon.’

‘No, no, forget about me. You’ve gotta find Brown...’ Miller said urgently as his hand went to grab the Aug’s forearm to move from his spot, but Jensen held him still and the more he struggled, the more strength he seemed to lose and breathing became more difficult by the second. ‘Warn him. The gold masks, they... they poisoned the champagne... sent it to meeting rooms, beyond the, the Reception Hall..., I tried to stop them... but I end up here.’

‘Macready!’ Jensen immediately barked into his infolink. ‘The Orchid is in play. We need to–Ahh!’

The old soldier’s focus was slipping again and could barely pay attention to what was being said. The high pitch sound coming from his communicator was giving him an intense headache. So he just settled with repeating his order, hoping that the augmented agent would heed it and get to the delegates.

Soon, Jensen was back at his side and gently murmured, ‘Just hang on, Miller, I’ll find–’

He shook his head in refusal to the aid the agent was offering. The Orchid was already running within his system. He was a dead man already. He struggled to reply. ‘No time. Fuh–forced me to drink... Tuh–too late for me, Jensen. But you... there’s still time to save the others.’

‘Forced you to drink...’ Jensen repeated his words as his eyes strayed to the discarded bottles of champagne on the floor. ‘The Orchid.’ Turning his attention back on him. ‘I have the antidote.’

‘What?’ he muttered. Not quite believing in what he had just heard. ‘How did...?’

‘There’s still time,’ the agent announced as he went into his coat’s inner pocket and pulled out a thin black canister.

‘No. No, forget it,’ Miller quickly interjected as his hand weakly clasped the wrist that held the antidote. ‘Not worth... wasting on just one life. The others... might need it...’

He was no one of importance. Jensen needed to complete his mission, he needed to save the delegates, who were all probably holding the Orchid by now and they might drink it in any minute. He shouldn’t waste the cure on someone like him!

His eyes bore deep into the augmented ones as he uttered those words. For a second, he was certain that his heart had stopped beating, for it was overwhelmed by the waves of emotions that came crashing onto him from Jensen’s eyes. It felt like he had been trapped in a dark room for too long and the sudden bright light coming from an opened window became too much for him to bear. The concern, sadness, fear, nervousness and anger, they were so openly displayed on a face that was once unreadable as it was unbreakable, it was almost like... he was baring his soul to him.

‘I won’t sit here and let you die,’ the American announced angrily before he uncorked the canister, his augmented hand went to tilt his neck slightly and quickly poured the liquid into his mouth when he opened it to protest. Its taste was horribly vile. He would have coughed it out if Adam’s hand hadn’t remained on his neck to keep his head faced upward, which helped to ease the way for the antidote and prevent him from choking.

‘Disobeying orders...’ Miller coughed out once he had emptied the entire antidote. Half wishing he had a beer right now to get rid of the terrible taste. ‘I thought you said you weren’t going to be a problem?’

The agent gave him a small wry smile before the same sad expression he had worn returned and he gently replied, ‘Just take it easy. You’ll be okay. Let the antidote do its thing.’

‘You were right. About everything. I’m sorry, Adam,’ Miller breathed out tiredly, feeling the need to apologize for being a bastard to him more than half of the time.

‘That’s not important now,’ Adam said with a shake of his head.

‘No, it is,’ the old soldier stated insistently. ‘My gut always told me to trust you. Should have listened more. Go. The meeting room. Save Brown. Then–put this bastard down.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everyone will be safe,’ Jensen promised before his retractable shades slid over his eyes once more and the stoic persona was back in place.

As tired blue eyes watched the Aug leaving the room, their owner was aware of three things before he fell into a deep sleep. The first thing was that this was actually the first time he and Adam referred to each other by their first name, a sign that perhaps they had achieved a certain level of trust. The second thing was that Adam’s augmented eyes had the most beautiful shades of gold and emerald he had ever seen. The last thing was that his mother was right. After all this time, what he believed to be nothing more than an old woman’s misguided belief, Miller had finally seen the soul she spoke of and its purity was something he never thought he would ever find in a world as broken as it currently was.

***

The next time the blue eyes opened, Miller found himself staring at a white dull ceiling with the smell of antiseptic heavy in the air and bright sunlight pouring in from the window. His mind was scrambling to remember what had happened and tried to recall how he was transported to a hospital room, but nothing came to him, until a small noise drew him away from the mess that was the blanks in his memories. Turning his head slightly to the side where the noise came, he was greeted by a strange sight, a sleeping Jensen in normal civilian clothing.

The old soldier blinked a few times to make sure he was not actually seeing things, but the sleeping figure remained where he sat on the metal chair. The Aug seemed to have a knack to surprise him at every turn, though he would appreciate it if this was the last time. As he settled more comfortably against his pillow, he took the time to study the American. Despite being asleep, he could still find the faint marks of a frown on the man’s face, but it wasn’t as prominent as when he was conscious and his shades covered his eyes. This was perhaps the most peaceful state that he could achieve. It was weird to see him wear anything other than his trench coat and his combat armour, because those seemed to be the only pieces of clothing he had in his wardrobe. The black turtleneck sweater made the agent looked lither than his usual buff up appearance. The only things that remained unchanged were his black cargo pants and combat boots.

His eyes then strayed back to the American’s face and lingered on the purple bruise on his right cheek and the small diagonal cut on his upper lip, both injuries seemed to be healing quite nicely. Seeing the wounds, he soon remembered what had happened at the Apex Building and he quickly sat up, which instantly sent shocks of pain all over his body.

He groaned in pain as his right hand went to press against his bandaged stomach and his free hand went to clench the bed sheet. _God, I haven’t been this beaten since the Incident._

That was true, his body was only this bruised when he was still with the Australian TAG and his team was called to respond to the riot that had broke out in one of the major cities in Australia during the Aug Incident. He was the designated sniper of his team, so he and his spotter were mostly isolated from the rest of the team and they got cornered by one of the crazed Augs who came up to the rooftop where they were stationed. They got lucky that that was their only encounter that day or they would have been a bloody pulp on the cement floor if a group of them came. The only difference between that attack and the one he had in Apex Building was that he was on his own, the gold-mask targeted specific part of his body and his strikes had far more force behind them.

‘You alright?’ someone gently asked.

‘I’m fine,’ Miller bit out automatically in complete denial and with a dismissive wave from his hand, a response he had engraved into his head since he had signed the divorce papers to fend off the surge of concerns from friends and associates alike. He hissed slightly when something cold came into contact on his skin and found an augmented hand holding his arm, looking up he saw Jensen’s shades-less and concern face.

The Aug didn’t say anything and simply readjusted his pillow. The older man would have usually protested or grumbled when he was being mothered by someone, intentionally or not, but he couldn’t find the usual spark that triggered it and allowed his subordinate to manoeuvre him into a more comfortable sitting position. Perhaps it was because the shock of seeing the American displayed his feelings so openly hadn’t worn off yet.

‘It’s weird to see you without your shades,’ Miller commented without a thought.

Jensen chuckled lightly as he settled back into his seat and explained, ‘Marchenko is not exactly keen on letting me just slap his wrists in cuff. He has gotten me a few good punches.’ His alloy fingers went to trace the purple bruise on his cheek and the blue eyes following their movement soon noticed the few cracks on the shades’ metallic rim. ‘I don’t think I’ll have my shades back until we get back to Prague. I guess you’re going to have to get use to seeing me without them for now.’

_I don’t mind seeing you without them._ Jim inwardly thought as he rested his upper body’s weight against the pillow. _You look more handsome without them._

His eyes twitched slightly at the last thought and instantly stomped on it before it spread into other unnecessary ideas his obviously damaged brain might conjured. He quickly cleared his throat, recovering some semblances of professionalism, and asked, ‘What has happened to the Convention?’

‘After I’ve left you in the catering area, I’ve went after Marchenko, seeing that the area where he has holed up is the closer. He’s got the entire room covered with motion sensor mines, one turret and a couple of drones he has gotten from the Prague Police. After the initial confrontation, I’ve tried to sneak in under cloak and take him out, but apparently he has some kind of detection system installed in his brain and found me once I’m within arm’s reach. I’ve managed to temporarily disable it with an EMP grenade after they’ve tried to swarm on me. Afterwards, a few good punches and one stun gun shot have made sure he won’t be getting up any time soon. I’ve quickly left for the Reception Hall once I’ve contacted Macready about Marchenko’s status, managed to reach Brown and the delegates before any of them has taken a sip and got them all evacuated. The number of casualties is zero,’ Adam recounted the events in an almost detached manner, but his eyes easily betrayed his emotions at a certain point in his story. The tiny hint of worry when he had stated he had gone after the giant man instead of heading to the Reception Hall as he had ordered him, the pride and pleasure of taking down their terrorist and the relief of having saved everyone.

‘I take it that Director William has Marchenko under tight security,’ Miller demanded.

‘Yes and all of his augs are disabled before he’s sent into his prison room,’ Jensen answered.

‘What about Macready and the rest of the strike team?’

‘They’ve had a little skirmish with a bomb in the Apex Building, but no one got badly injured,’ the Aug replied. ‘Macready has left with the whole team yesterday to go back to Prague after Director William has given him permission to leave, they should be back to the Main Hanger by now. He told me to tell you when you wake that he’ll hold the fort until you’re back and just take care of yourself.’

The Director nodded his head in approval, seeing that he was out of commission and would probably remain bedridden for another week, knowing the doctors’ clockwork suggestion to almost every patient, it was best if Macready was back in Prague to oversee things, he had placed enough stress on Argento by giving her that job, but out of all of his choices, she was the only one he could count on doing her job, Smiley and Chang were too... well, incompetent, and at times mentally unstable, to deal with the responsibility of handling the entire TF29’s Central Europe Division, no matter how temporary said duty was. At least with his friend back in TF29, he could rest a little easier, knowing that he wouldn’t come back with a bigger mess than he had left it and he should make a note to himself to tell Jennifer to increase Aria’s next patch of Neuropozyne as compensation and reward.

That answered his main problems, but there was still a little mystery here...

‘Why didn’t you leave with Macready?’

Jensen flinched slightly at the question and discomfort was apparent in his entire body language, without his shades he was an opened book and, while it was still a strange sight to him, Jim found himself to be a little pleased with the change of pace. In their previous discussions, he always felt like he was at a disadvantage when compared with the agent’s poker face and spent more time guessing and waiting for the man to slip up than having a normal conversation.

The Aug crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against his chair and eyes averted his before he softly answered, with his voice barely above a whisper, ‘I need to make sure you’re alright.’

Miller could feel the hard shell that was his professionalism cracked at the man’s voice as he recalled his little tango with Death. He guessed resolution was the one virtue the American upheld like a badge of honour and he was unwilling to leave him behind after having force-fed him the antidote that might or might not contain some side-effects.

The old soldier grimaced slightly as he bit the inside of his cheeks. He wanted to demand answers from the younger man, such as how he came to obtain an antidote to the Orchid when even Smiley had troubles in finding what it was in the first place, and many more questions that he seemed to hold answers to, but was unwilling to share any of them. All the secrecy and mystery Jensen had wrapped himself in, he wanted to tear down the curtains Jensen had hidden his secrets behind... but... not right now... not when he was looking this... vulnerable...

God, this man made his life more difficult than any man he had ever encountered in his entire life and could somehow make him willingly back down more often than not, now that was some achievement, even Neil didn’t hold this much sway on him, with his subtle looks full of hidden messages he would give him whenever they were in front of the children, not without some bits of effort and tempting incentives at times. He had been trained to discern and counter the usage of the CASIE augmentation when he was assigned as a Director of a Division Branch, so far Jensen hadn’t pulled that trick out of his bag, which was surprising and slightly maddening, because that was the only thing that could explain his out of character docility. Also it was easier to act more forceful when he was facing an emotionless Adam than an opened book one, who had conjured a bloody storm of internal conflicts in both his mind and heart and this frustrated him to no ends.

Despite all of said frustration, there was only one truth: Adam Jensen had saved his life. If he didn’t have that antidote and didn’t disobey his order to save it for the delegates, he would probably be sleeping in the morgue instead and waiting for a signature on his death certificate. He did not just save him. He had also given him a second chance to face his problems and to actually fix his mistakes instead of running and hiding from them. Interrogations and lectures could come later when they had recovered from their ordeal. Jensen could keep his secrets. For now.

‘You only did what you feel is right at the time and you don’t have to worry about adding the antidote in your report. I suspect that as far as the doctor knows, I’ve only sustained physical injuries, correct?’ Jensen nodded in confirmation. ‘Then there’s no need for either of us to mention it again.’

‘It’s not the report I’m worry about, Jim,’ Adam said, his voice soft with a stern edge on it.

Miller’s heart clenched for a moment as the agent’s tone echoed the ones he had heard from Neil many, many times when they were still together, it might sound like he was going to get berated, but the worry hidden underneath told him that he was deeply cared. Somehow the thought of comparing the Aug and his ex-husband left a sour taste in his mouth and he did not understand why.

‘Usually, I don’t involve myself in others’ personal business,’ the Aug started after a moment of utter silence on his part, which made the older male scoffed in disbelief, because he seemed to do the exact opposite of what he had just said, he always had his hands in other people’s business. ‘But I think you need an intervention.’

‘I don’t need you to take over Auzenne’s post, Jensen,’ Miller interrupted curtly. He did not want to deal with this after just waking up.

‘Death is never a solution, _Miller_ ,’ the American continued firmly and his augmented eyes were tightly locked with his. The feelings they contained were the same as when he forced the antidote down his throat. ‘It doesn’t change anything. It just causes more pain and suffering to those you care and who care for you.’

Miller wanted to shout at him and tell him to mind his own business, but those eyes kept him grounded and silent, for they were a haunting look that he had seen in his own reflection every time he woke up and before he went to bed, one that was filled with pain and regret. What was worse was that they told him the Aug had went through a similar phase, the time when one was so tired that they just wished to end their life.

‘I’m not looking for death, Jensen. Not anymore,’ Miller finally admitted as he averted the man’s gaze and a tensed silence settled over them again.

‘When I first got augmented, I’ve wanted to die,’ Adam began, drawing the old soldier’s attention once more who watched as his haunted gaze went to the augmented hands that now laid on his thighs and the mechanical fingers flexed at a soundless tune. ‘I might have been working for Sarif Industry, but I have never considered or wanted to get augmented. They’ve changed me so much that I find myself more machine than man. I’ve went through so many panic attacks since I woke up on that operating table that I wonder why they have even bothered to keep me stabilize. When they’ve finally allowed me to return home, I’ve went on a bit of a rampage, still not used to my above human strength, I broke nearly everything that can be broken, my boss has pretty much paid for most the damages and got almost everything replaced, the one thing he didn’t is the mirror.’ A hollow laugh rang in the room. ‘I think that’s the only thing that I’ve kept breaking since I’ve been augmented. I hate seeing my augs and those eyes that aren’t mine. I hate them for what they represent. What I’ve become. What I am right now.’

Miller frowned slightly at the bitterness coating the man’s every word, his heart jumped in fear for a moment when he saw Jensen’s fingers hovered over his eyes, pressing against the flesh, as he told him his hatred for them, afraid for a fleeting moment that he would attempt to rip them out. Only once the man seemed to have regained some form of composure and his hands were removed from his face did Jim dare to ask him. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘... After a while, I just realize that no matter how many things I break, how much I indulge myself into health deteriorating vices or how many times I wish I was dead, it won’t change what has happened that day. The people who have died in that attack won’t come back and I’ll still be as heavily augmented as I am today. The only things I can do are to accept that I can’t change what has happened and my choices from then on will be what really matter,’ Adam replied calmly. His haunted gaze lessened and guilt slowly slipped in. ‘Your daughter... is in need of an augmentation operation, right?’

Miller’s frown deepened at the question as his hands clenched into tight fists, the desire to punch him lingered in the back of his mind for delving into his private life and for breaking into his apartment, though he held himself back and simply nodded in affirmation.

‘Whatever choice you and your ex want to make, just make sure that it’s what she wants. I have spent too long hating everyone, including myself, for what I’ve been turned into without my approval and... I don’t want you to experience the same thing as people who care about me went through,’ Adam softly said. ‘I understand that you don’t want to sign the papers, fearing that you are condemning her to a life worse than death, but... if push come to shove and you are forced to make a final decision. Let her know what she will be facing, no matter how bad the truth is, give her the choice to choose and the facts she needs to know to make it, whether to get the augmentations or not. Don’t turn this into a matter between you and your ex-husband. It’s her life, she should have a say in it.’

Silence settled over them once again, it was no longer one of heavy tension but one of contemplation as Miller mulled over the piece of Jensen’s personal history and the advice given him. Pointing out the main problem and obvious solution of his private life’s dilemma, a burden that he had carried without a word or question like an obedient soldier that he neglected the fact that neither he nor Neil had ever asked or explained the situation to Susie, they had simply treated the problem of her health like a personal war between the two of them. Susie only knew that she was unwell, but she was never told how much worse it would be, seeing that she was still a child, they had deemed the matter of the augmentation to be only discussed between them and that it was unnecessary to provide her with further bad news when she was already in constant pain.

‘Get some rest, Miller,’ Jensen announced suddenly, pulling the Director out of his deep thoughts, as he headed towards the door. ‘I’ll tell the doctor you’re awake and contact Macready for an update.’

‘Adam,’ Miller called out when the Aug had opened the door. Green and golden coloured eyes bore into his once more before the old man inclined his head in thanks. ‘Thank you.’

He wanted to thank him for many things, from saving him when all he could think of was dying to not giving up on him like many had done after he had ignored them long enough. Sadly, his voice refused to listen to his command to further express his gratitude. Yet, despite that, Adam seemed to have caught his message, for a smile tugged the corner of his lips before he said in parting, ‘Wasn’t an option, Miller.’

A rare and genuine smile found its way on the lips of the old weary soldier who slowly drifted back into a peaceful sleep.

***

**Two weeks later...**

**Prague. TF29 Headquarter.**

Jim Miller let out a sigh of relief as he had finally finished up the report on the Safe Harbour Convention. Thankfully, it had been quite peaceful for the past two weeks, even the chaos the police had caused in Prague had settled down, and no terrorist activities of any sort had been reported, almost like the incident in the Apex Building had put a sudden halt in everyone’s plans. Of course, the chaos would return soon enough, for it was as inevitable as the rising of the sun, but for now, he would gladly enjoy this calm before the storm for however long that he could.

Leaning back against his seat, he stared out of the window of his office and observed the floor below, where a skeleton crew continued their vigilant watch, it was the perfect opposite state of what had happened a few weeks ago, now everything was back in order and there were no chaos of whatsoever. Some workers even had time to fix the bloody leakage near the Server Room that the IT units had been complaining for months about and had managed to get some of the cables out of some of the corridors as well. Blue eyes soon went to the digital clock displayed on his computer screen where it indicated it was nearing midnight. If he left now, he should be able to catch one of his rare six hours sleeps, the benefit of having his apartment a few streets away from the headquarter. Besides, he could always spend his time to enjoy reading one of the books he had put off if sleep evaded him. He put on his heavy coat, careful not to aggravate his injuries, and was about to leave when his eyes spotted a faint light coming from the Counter-Terrorism department, which was strange, seeing that Macready had already left for the night and most of the agents in that department had relocated themselves to the break room for some R&R. Curious, he went to investigate.

The department was dark, barely illuminated by the few screens that continued to have data poured in, but the brightest source of light came from a secluded corner that belonged to one augmented agent. As he rounded the corner, he was greeted by the sight of Jensen hunched over his desk with multiple tablets and papers scattered over his own mess of cereal bowl and cardboard boxes.

‘Burning the midnight oil, Jensen?’ Miller asked as he approached the Aug.

‘Miller,’ Jensen greeted without sparing a glance at him as he picked up one of the tablets in one hand and checked something on a paper on the other. ‘Just sorting out the reports of our strike teams and those of the London Division, Macready has told me he needs these sorted before tomorrow, saying that Director William needs our copies for their own report.’

‘I’ll help you out,’ Miller announced before he could stop himself or the agent could protest as he moved to the side that was littered with papers and began sorting through them. A part of him wondered why he even offered his help, seeing that this was Jensen’s task and part of his job description, there was no obligation of any sort on his part to help him, but the old soldier quickly ignored that inner monologue of his and simply focused on the printed words.

Both of them worked wordlessly, handing each other the document the other needed while keeping an eye out on what the other had in hands. Papers and tablets were exchanged and compared, then the electronic files were stacked together in a neat pile and the hardcopies were placed into separate folders. Before either he or Jensen noticed, they had everything organized and labelled properly. All that remained was to upload them to the TF29 data server, then all of this would be packed and sealed away, but all of that could wait for tomorrow morning.

‘Thank you,’ Jensen murmured appreciatively with a nod as he went to his locker to retrieve his coat.

‘It’s nothing,’ Miller replied nonchalantly as he turned to leave, he paused at the corner and glanced back at the agent. ‘Do you have any plan tomorrow night?’

The question surprised both of them, more apparent on the Director than the augmented agent whose shades forever shielded the man’s emotions from display. Inwardly, Miller wondered what in the world had possessed him to utter that question. Well, now that he had said it, he might as well as bite the bullet and get it over with. Besides, he knew mostly everyone in the base as an acquaintance, Macready was one of his few friends in TF29 and Argento was more akin to the nervous rookie who he temporarily took under his wing until things finally settled down for her. Out of all the agents, Adam was perhaps the only one who he had yet to reach out to in private and their sole interactions only came from work-related issues. It could be a good bonding time for them and might provide the Aug a brief moment of respite from his problems. With Auzenne still being the current psychiatrist of the Division (despite the numerous requests he had filed to Joe for a new psychiatrist), he doubted Jensen would willingly go see her unless he was being enforced by an order and he did not think there were any benefit for him to see her either. He believed he needed a friend he could trust, not an ear for him to vent (in Macready’s case) or a caring voice for comfort (Argento needed that to help with her stress level).

‘... No, I don’t have any plans,’ Adam answered after a short minute, though the way he chewed his words out made Miller wondered if he had simply made the agent feel even more uncomfortable with his presence than before.

‘I did say that I owe you a drink,’ Jim said smoothly, managing to keep his voice from stuttering. It was a promise he had made when they were on their way back to Prague, despite the agent’s initial refusal, stating that he owed him nothing for saving him. ‘And it’s rare enough for us to catch a break in times like this, so I thought we can just go out for a drink. If you want to that is.’

Another pause.

‘Sure, I don’t mind,’ Adam finally agreed as he put his trench coat on. ‘Though we might have to stick to the Red Light District for a drink. Not many of the finer establishments in Prague allow Augs in their bar.’

The Director’s shoulders tensed at the mention of the Red Light District, it was one of the places in Prague that he avoided like the plague. After all, it was unofficially the Dvali territory, but the unwanted attention he received from both prostitutes and patrons alike was another reason why he refused to be anywhere near that district. Just because he was alone, it did not mean he was looking for company for the night, something which his frown did nothing to deter anybody from hitting on him as he walked past. Still, he understood the agent’s concern, it would murder the mood for a drink if they had to spend the first half an hour to argue with the owner and if by going to the Red Light District avoided that, he could swallow his discomfort for the agent. Hopefully, if there ever was a next time, the view on augmented citizens would change for the better in Prague and they could actually go to a better bar for a drink.

_Great. You haven’t even have a drink with him yet and you’re already thinking about next time? What the hell is wrong with you, James Miller?_ The old soldier mentally berated himself as he suggested, ‘Tomorrow night at 8 o’clock?’

‘Alright.’ Jensen accepted as he shut down his computer and the light on his desk. ‘Met up at the Red Light District northern entrance?’

Miller agreed with a nod as they both headed to the elevator, the ride back to the street level was quiet, almost like the wall was erected between them again once they’d finished their brief conversation, which bothered the older man slightly as he bid the Aug farewell and headed back to his apartment. Usually, he wouldn’t be too bothered by such things, but Jensen’s behaviour felt odd. After the talk they had in the hospital, he thought he had managed to connect with Jensen, but since their return and the shades were repaired, he couldn’t help but think that the American was a bit more guarded when it came to him, like he reverted himself back to who he was when he first arrived in Prague’s TF29, except it was solely with him.

The questionable behaviour of his subordinate haunted his thoughts all the way back to his home as he tried to figure what caused this sudden rift between them. Part of him, a tiny part of him, wondered if Jensen had developed Dissociative Disorder from his trauma. Seeing that the person who greeted him when he woke up that day was someone who actually lacked the ability to hide their feelings, who openly displayed them to him and who actually showed how much he cared about him. The shades were perhaps part of the defence mechanism that his mind had developed to cope with the trauma of being augmented into a killer-machine. Somehow, the thought saddened him greatly.

The Director sighed tiredly as he entered his home, removing his shoes as the lights automatically turned on. His eyes went to his computer where the screen still displayed the same page as he had left it. Around a week ago, he had finally contacted Neil and told him that he would like to discuss the augmentation operation with Susie before he signed the papers. The result of the conversation was... explosive per say. So now, it was a waiting game, he adamantly refused to sign them until he got to talk with his daughter, something that his ex-husband rejected instantly and this cold war began between them. For now, Susie’s conditions were stabilized, so they could afford the delay...

Still, Neil told him that the doctor insisted that they reached a decision soon. He shook his head to clear away the doubt and guilt clawing at the back of his mind, for he had taken Jensen’s advice to heart and what he wanted for Susie might not be what she wanted, so if they had to have this fight to reach a better conclusion, he would deal with the emotional baggage.

Miller let out another sigh as he went to take a quick shower. Afterwards, he let his fingertips brushed over the faces of his children on the photo before he finally allowed his fatigued body to the rest it deserved.

Unfortunately, his dream was anything but pleasant.

In his mindscape, he was seemingly lost in a mirror maze, upon which they all reflected the crying face of his daughter, demanding him a reason why he was letting her suffer. Her voice was soon joined by Neil’s and Ethan’s, all of them blaming him for his neglect and calling him a coward. He just kept on moving forward, trying his best to ignore the hurtful words as he rounded corners and turns until he came face-to-face with an irregularity in this nightmare, a broken mirror. Multiple blue eyes stared back at him from the fractured shards, they blinked at the same time as he did and he realized that they were the reflection of him, strangely enough only his eyes appeared. Then he spotted something different in one of the fragmented pieces, one of the eyes held a different shade of colours, it shone golden around a hue of emerald green.

‘Jensen?’ he called out as the voices of his family grew fainter as he found himself lost in the haunting gaze within the cybernetic eye for the rest of his dream.

***

**Next evening...**

**Prague. Red Light District, Northern Entrance.**

Jim stifled a yawn as he gently pinched the bridge of his nose. Despite having slightly overslept this morning, exhaustion still clung onto him tightly and the dream slashed nightmare he had last night was not really helping. He wasn’t sure if he was just thinking too much about his family problem and Jensen’s odd attitude towards him that they followed him all the way into his dream or if it was his subconscious wanting to back out of his bonding session that created that weird vision. He glanced up at the night sky where thick clouds coloured by the streetlight had gathered and a distant rumbling sound could be heard despite the blaring music coming a few streets away. One of the things he disliked the most was the rainy weather in Prague. In Australia, it never rained this frequently, everyday was a perfect sunny day for him to go biking or hiking. Here, his only available activity was either boxing or reading, both because of his job’s time constraint and the inhospitable weather, fitting for a city such as Prague one might say.

_It better not start raining._ The old man thought with a scowl.

‘Miller.’

The Director turned his head to the side to face the owner of the voice and simply stood shock and speechless. He was expecting to see Jensen, just not in a different attire that was outside of his norms. His style remained mostly unchanged, a trench coat that was long and thick enough to cover the body armour and sidearm he carried. Unlike the one TF29 had issued for him, this one was pitch black and his shoulders had intricate golden floral designs over them, possibly custom-made, and from what little the trench coat revealed, it also seemed like he had set aside his armour for a simple dark blue sweater. He, on the other hand, had not made much of an effort in that department. Being one of the Branch Directors of the TF29, it was pretty much obligatory for him to wear a suit. Also his lack of a social life in Prague had pretty much rendered his wardrobe to be for suits-only with a few normal articles that was not suited for Prague’s humid and windy weather. So he had more or less just switched from the suit he had worn to work for another and seeing Jensen made a change in his choice of clothing for this simple meeting made him a bit self-conscious if he was ever being honest, which he would never admit.

‘Jensen,’ he quickly greeted in return before he gestured to the busy street beyond the gate. ‘Shall we?’

‘Sure,’ the Aug stated as they walked through the gate. ‘I hope you don’t mind us going to the Red Queen. It’s the only place that doesn’t really care whether you’re augmented or not and I help the owner with a small favour of hers, so I get mostly free drinks and discounts on the pricey ones.’

That caused Miller to raise an eyebrow in slight surprise and wariness seeped into his bones as he recalled that the Red Queen was owned by Máša Kadlek, a member of the Dvali, who ran the prostitution operations of the gang, but she barely had any connection to the major operations ran by the Dvali Family, her relationship seemed to be mostly that of a treasurer than anything and with the Dvali Family having a hierarchy change, it remained to be seen whether she would prove to be someone they should look out for or would she remained an influential figure but one who was powerless to assume control over the Dvali due to her Czech roots. So far, Kadlek had done a rather good job at keeping her head low, her name barely even worth a sticker on the Dvali board in TF29, and running a seemingly clean establishment. Blue eyes scanned the bright red building in the Red Light District and pointedly ignored the strippers dancing behind the windows to attract customers. _Almost clean establishment._

While a part of him was wary over the fact that Jensen had established a certain connection with a senior member of the Dvali gang, he soon found himself at ease over the fact that the younger man was entrusting him with this peculiar information instead of hiding it. He trusted he knew where his loyalty lay, so he didn’t comment anything and simply followed him into Red Queen. _God, why must everything be so red in here too? It’s not like the colour itself could hide blood stains._

‘Oh, hello there, Mr. Tall-dark-and-handsome,’ the female bartender greeted Jensen suavely when they entered. ‘And you’ve got company with you. My, this is a rare occasion.’

‘Hello to you too, Cindy,’ said Jensen as he sat down on the bar stool. ‘You got any Old Wolf in stock?’

‘Old Wolf?’ Cindy parroted the name in surprise, though she quickly recovered and her cocky smile was back on her lips. ‘Sure, Mrs. Kadlek always has some of those red wine stored in the back, though I do recall you usually prefer Tango Foxtrot and Goldtoot.’

‘My friend here likes Old Wolf than whiskey,’ was Adam sole reply, which caught Miller off guard, though the surprise soon faded as he remembered that the man did broke into his apartment a few weeks ago and he did leave a few bottles of Old Wolf on his kitchen island. He had probably taken notice of the brand when he put his glass into the sink.

‘Oh,’ the bartender intoned with a curious glint in her eyes before her smile widened, she quickly served them some small snacks and announced she would be back with their drink in a minute.

‘You do remember that this is supposed to be my treat to you,’ Miller stated once the blonde left and he was seated next to him.

‘I know,’ the Aug replied nonchalantly. ‘But is my guess on your choice of drink wrong?’

‘...No,’ Miller answered after a brief pause. ‘Though I’ll appreciate it if you don’t go snooping in my apartment again.’

‘You don’t have to worry about it, it’s a one-time thing anyway,’ his subordinate replied without skipping a beat as he helped himself with some snacks. ‘Still, I suggest you change the lock and code on the safe side. It’s rather easy for someone like me to hack into it.’

The older male grimaced slightly at the comment, for he couldn’t think of a good comeback at that, it was something he had not fixed yet and had only switched to the backup code, so he simply began eating some of the snacks as well as he blocked out the tasteless music booming in the air and the comings and goings of prostitutes, strangely enough, almost all of them were augmented. After a few more bites and their wine came, they slowly eased into a more comfortable atmosphere and the light conversations they shared were enjoyable. It was slightly surprising for Miller to discover that Jensen was a small antique collector, hence why he had floral designs hand-sewn on his coat’s shoulders as a tribute of his love for the age of Renaissance, and he had gotten so comfortable and at ease that he even let himself openly vent over the fact that he couldn’t enjoy any of his favourite outdoor activities, something he had never done, even when he was with friends. Hmm, strangely enough, he seemed to be getting tipsy a little earlier than usual, at least he believed he was getting drunk, because he kept wondering what would Adam’s eyes look like when he smiled like he was smiling right now, free of worry and actually happy. The shades made his smile had a shark-like edge to it and he liked him much better without them. Shame that they were stuck to his face, otherwise he would have plucked them off to satisfy his curiosity. Sadly, that childish thought brought a sour taste in his mouth, which Miller quickly drowned by taking an aggressively deep drink from his glass as he mentally concluded. _Yep, I’m most definitely drunk._

‘How much is he?’

Miller didn’t realize the question was directed at him until he caught the subtle sigh that came from his subordinate who pointedly ignored the stranger and the question he posed and took another sip of wine. The old soldier was still uncertain what the stranger meant until he repeated the question in a manner that was reserved for those with hearing problems and jerked his thumb towards his companion. The meaning of his words finally clicked in his mind and it had also ignited something in him that hadn’t been burning for a long time, anger. Pure and uncontrollable anger.

He clenched his hands into tight fists, but he held himself back from punching the man as he said, ‘He is not a merchandise. If you want a whore, ask the fucking owner or workers.’

‘Now, now, no need to be hasty my good man,’ said the man in a manner that was not so dissimilar to those slimy store managers who was trying to upsell something to their customers. It certainly made his appearance as greasy as those fat geezers who never cared how much lives they had to destroy to fatten their pocket. ‘I’m sure we can come to an agreement of sort. I mean, it’s just an Aug.’

What followed after his last uttered word was a chaotic symphony created by sounds of broken glasses and panic shouts, but Miller was not concerned what the other customers or workers were doing, because his eyes were solely concentrated on the bastard who was now squirming on the floor and cupping his face with both hands. He was about to deliver a kick to the downed man when a metallic arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back as its owner whispered urgently into his ear, ‘Miller! That’s enough.’

The urgency in the man’s tone snapped his soldier instinct on as two armed men came in, followed by the owner of the Red Queen who impassively surveyed the mess made in her bar before her gaze shifted onto them, or more precisely on Jensen, and calmly demanded an explanation.

‘A simple misunderstanding, Mrs. Kadlek,’ was the agent’s short answer.

That actually ticked Miller off further, so much that he threw caution to the wind and growled out, ‘Maybe you should put a fucking sign out there to tell people that not every Aug in your property is here to sell their body. Or do you just let people do however they please on your territory?’

The two goons’ arms flexed slightly, readied to fire at the slightest move he made or at their boss’ signal, but the Czech remained impassive as her calculative gaze bore into his, studying him and weighting her options. The old soldier chanced a small glance at his companion who had moved himself slightly in front him, despite the almost casual pose he had taken, he was fairly sure that he was preparing to activate one of his augmentations should the need arise.

The Dvali member regarded without any apparent change to her facial expression before she snapped her fingers, snapping almost everyone to a nervous attention, and told the workers to clean up the mess while her two thugs were to remove the man from her property. Her attention never strayed from the two of them as her men did as they were ordered to and she coolly stated, ‘I do believe this incident will not occur in the future.’

‘It won’t,’ was Jensen’s response as he handed the money to Cindy who nervously took it.

Both of them left the establishment without another word and it wasn’t until they were outside of the Red Light District did the American decide to scold him for his recklessness. Something that Miller could not accept as he bit back, ‘So you just let them treat you like you are nothing more than a piece of meat that is playing hard to get?’

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle, Miller,’ the Aug answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

‘This isn’t something you just let people tag you with!’ Miller exclaimed indignantly.

‘It’s nothing I can’t handle,’ Jensen repeated each word insistently.

‘Will you fucking stop pretending that you are unaffected by all the craps that have happened to you?’ the Director downright shouted as they stopped advancing. He was thankful that the nearly abandoned district was mostly void of life at this time of the hour, even more since the Martial Law incident. He rather not discovered a filmed video of them arguing on the street the next morning in anywhere that had a twit, a face or a tube. ‘That’s one of your biggest issues, you just isolate yourself from everything, pretending that you are more machine than man and making sure that everyone knows that by acting like a heartless robot.’

‘They see what they want to see,’ Jensen muttered begrudgingly.

‘Because you allow yourself to believe in what they’ve said!’ the older of the two argued. ‘You’re not a mindless weapon!’

‘YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW!’

A blur of shadows and lights followed by a surge of pain from his back, Miller found himself pinned to the wall, facing an angry augmented man with his arm raised to strike. The old soldier barely suppressed his full-body flinch when the punch struck a few centimetres short from his face, breaking the brick wall and sending a small cloud of dust and debris in the air, but the fact that his head was nearly reduced to paste was not registered in his mind. Not when his eyes were locked onto Jensen’s face. The shades got retracted during the short skirmish, showing the augmented eyes that now shone a bright golden hue that dominated the usual green of the artificial irises. Anger was the most apparent emotion the agent was displaying, though underneath all the contained rage was self-loathing. A familiar stinging sensation soon settled itself deep in his heart as he was the one he brought it to surface.

‘I’ve tried to fix this mess,’ Adam whispered. His voice crack and his eyes downcast, appearing far more beaten and tired than he had ever seen him. The artificial limb had loosened its hold on his coat’s collar. ‘I’m still trying to fix everything.’

It sounded like a confession of some sort, but he could not understand the meaning behind his words. His gut feeling told him that Jensen had shared a tiny fragment of a secret he kept hidden from him, just revealing enough to know his intention was pure, not enough for him to ascertain what his true purpose was.

Regretfully, he did not get the chance to ponder further, for the sky chose at this moment to split open and rain came down on them in thick droplets. _Oh wonderful. Just fucking fantastic._

With that sarcastic thought in mind, he quickly snatched the hand that was still holding onto his coat and half-dragged and half-pulled the Aug down the street, quickening their pace as the rain fell heavier and the wind grew harsher. He didn’t allow them to slow down until they literally burst into the entrance of 33 Hlavni Apartments, by then they were both soaked to the bones. With a huff, he flicked off thick drops of water from his suit’s sleeve and groaned once he recalled that they still needed to go through the courtyard to the other side to reach his apartment. _Damn the guy who designed this apartment complex._

‘Uh, Miller?’

Miller instantly looked over his shoulder to stare at the Aug curiously, having never heard the man spoke with so much uncertainty in his voice before. What had happened to his usual sarcastic but firm tone?

The agent looked a bit... nervous if that was even possible with Jensen as he dropped his gaze downward, a silent bid for him to do so as well. The older male looked down and found his hand still holding onto the augmented one firmly.

‘Sorry,’ Miller muttered softly as he, with a strange amount of reluctance, let go the artificial hand.

The American cleared his throat and told him he would be taking his leave, but the Director quickly caught the Aug’s hand and said, ‘You can stay for the night.’

This was almost a complete déjà vu of him asking Jensen out for a drink, except that this time, they both expressed surprise. He probably would have laughed at the comical, and almost adorable, look of a deer in headlights Jensen was wearing right now if his mind wasn’t busy in finding the right words to explain himself without sounding like some stupid made-up excuses made by an equally idiotic teenager. ‘I mean, you live in Překážka, right? It’s a long way to walk back from here and I doubt the storm is going to stop anytime soon. You can stay at my place until morning.’

‘I... I’m... not...’ Jensen trailed off, looking more awkward than he had seen him. ‘...Okay?’

With that, they silently headed to his apartment, ignoring the momentary downpour as they walked through the courtyard before they reached Apartment 203, the Director went on automatic as soon as he was at the front door, inputting the code and going in, barely remembered to hold the door long enough for his guest to come in.

When the lights turned on, he said, ‘Just leave your shoes next to the door and you can leave your coat to dry off on one of the chairs.’ He pointed at the chairs scattered around the living room table. ‘I’ll go get some towels.’

On the second floor of his loft, he quickly dumped the wet clothing into a basket before he changed into dry and comfortable clothes and brought out a pair of towel from the closet, wrapping one of them around his neck. Just as he closed the closet door, he quickly opened it again to pull out his SAS sweater and some pants before he headed back downstairs. If he was soaked from head to toe in the rain, he doubted Jensen managed to remain any drier than he did and he was proven right when the living room came into his vision. The Aug was seating on the couch, the top of his sweater drenched in rainwater with wet patches on his sleeves and pants, looking at the Picus News on TV screen absentmindedly.

The older male barely contained the sigh that threatened to escape his lips as he approached his guest, partly wondering why Jensen had to make himself so miserable at times. He carefully draped the towel over the head of the young man, startling him out of whatever thoughts he was in, as he set the fresh set of clothing next to him and remarked, ‘You’ll catch a bloody cold if you keep wearing those wet clothes of yours. I think these should fit.’

‘Thanks,’ the black-haired man mumbled in a monotone voice, but remained unmoved in his spot.

At this instance, Miller couldn’t stop heaving a heavy sigh of utter exasperation or placing his hands over the towel as he began rubbing it over the wet bangs of the Aug, who made a small indignant noise that brought a barely contained smile on his face. Maybe it was because he missed his children too much or maybe he was just displeased with the sudden lack of human reaction from the agent that made him do this, he really did not know.

‘Really? Haven’t your parents ever told you that it isn’t healthy to leave your hair wet and dripping?’ Miller chided as he continued his work in drying the man’s hair, hands moving in a familiar pattern. He fondly recalled the numerous times when Susie and Ethan had escaped the bathroom with their hair as wet as a fish and headed straight for the living room’s TV for their favourite cartoon show despite he and Neil had told them to stay put. It had always ended up with him and Neil sitting on the couch with their children on their lap and drying their hair with towels while their son and daughter’s attention was locked in whatever silly stories the cartoon was showing that day. ‘I already have to deal with enough migraines to last a life time dealing with you lots. I doubt you want to spend the rest of your life with headaches because you didn’t take care of yourself properly.’

He was so lost in his own memories and the old monologue that he had repeated to his children that he didn’t even realize he had stopped rubbing the towel over the younger man’s hair until his fingers were carting through the soft raven locks, though what shocked him more than him overstepping another’s personal boundary was the expression on Jensen’s face. His eyes were half-lidded with his black eyelashes bringing out the green in the mechanical irises, his face were free of stressed lines for many of his facial muscles were relaxed and his full lips barely parted enough for him to see the pinkish red of his mouth.

Adam looked so... serene.

For a millisecond, and only for honest-to-God a millisecond, Miller was not disturbed by the thought of finding a surreal beauty in the augmented man as he leaned in for his eyes to closely study, neither was he ashamed of the thought that he was the one who had coaxed this soft side out of the hard shell of a stoic man as he gently massaged the scalps and enjoyed the relaxed muscle under his fingertips, nor was he conscience-stricken by the idea that he wanted to kiss Adam Jensen as their breath ghosted across each other’s lips.

Of course, Fate decided to intervene in its usual spectacular manner that was often reserved for those ridiculous soap opera dramas. His computer’s mail alert chimed, breaking... whatever it was between superior and subordinate, whose eyes both widened in shock at their dangerously close proximity. The old soldier backed away in a flash and the Aug flinched at his sudden movement, both of their chest were heaving heavily as if they had ran a marathon as they stared at each other with wide eyes. Miller was the first to coward away from Jensen’s unwavering gaze as he feebly gestured to the bathroom and said, ‘You better get changed and feel free to use the shower. I... need to check my mails. And... I’ll bring out the extra pillows and bed sheet.’

Miller made a quick escape to the second floor, for he had set the alert to sound once if it was work-related mails, and, with a swift punch at the secret panel, he quickly sheltered himself in the secret room, trying in vain to calm the erratic beating of his heart. He almost jumped out of his skin when the sound of water running reached his ears and, with a shake of his head, he concentrated on the file that Manderley had just sent him. Good thing too, he needed a distraction, though he just read the briefing document. It was very difficult for him to focus on the words and even more so in registering the words into his brain that was in a state of complete shambles.

_I’ll read it again tomorrow morning._ The Director thought morosely as he finally gave up after re-reading the same paragraph twice and got out of the secret room. He gathered up the items for his guest’s sleepover and made his way back down, just in time to see Jensen pulling the SAS sweater over his upper body as he came out of the bathroom, he averted his gaze from the Aug’s body and hastily went to the sole couch in the living, acting as occupied as he could with pillows and bed sheet, even as the agent approached him.

‘I’ll take be the couch tonight, you can have the bed upstairs,’ Miller announced with his end-of-discussion tone as he adjusted the pillows on the armrest and eyes refused to meet mechanical ones.

A tensed and uncomfortable silence settled over them until it was broken by Adam’s monotone voice.

‘...Understood.’

The old man did not spare a glance at Jensen until his footsteps ceased to echo in the vast apartment. It was only then that he allowed himself to sigh and rub his hand over his tired face, inwardly scolding at himself for acting like a jerk when he was the one who made a fool out of himself and disregarding the cold touch of guilt that had wrapped itself around his heart.

He settled as comfortably as he could on the furniture, he tossed and turned several times before he finally drifted into an uneasy rest.

When he woke up, light was barely shining through the windows above him, he found the trench coat gone from its spot on the chair. After a quick scout of the area, it became apparent to the owner that his guest had left the instant he had fallen asleep, the bed remained as untouched as he had left it last night and the clothes he had given Jensen were left folded in the basket. As he sat down on his bed, he laid the used SAS sweater over his lap, letting his fingertips ran over the coarse material as the unbearable guilty consciousness returned tenfold.

The sense of mortification had twisted into a gnarling shape in the pit of his stomach at the fact that he had overstepped the fragile boundary he had with Jensen and literally ruined whatever progress he had managed to build up so far with the Aug. He had brought them back to square one. No. He had completely thrown the board and pieces to oblivion, irretrievable and irreparable. All because he had a bloody fucking mid-life crisis out of the blue and a stupid mother-fucking crush on his subordinate. Yes, he bloody admitted that he might, no scratched that, he HAD an obsessive crush on the guy who had saved his life. No. He was in LOVE with Adam Jensen. There! He had fucking admitted it. _James Miller, you are a love-struck idiot._

For once, and finally, he did not deny it and he was feeling miserable because of it.

***

**One week later...**

**Prague. 33 Hlavni Apartments, Apartment 203.**

Jim Miller was putting all of his pen-up frustration in each strike he delivered to his punching bag, revelling in the heat that his body built up and the ache in his muscles. Pain had been a good partner for him in the last seven days, for it kept his head mostly clear and focused on his job, despite the source of his troubled mind lingering in and out of his life. He was right in his assumption that he had ruined whatever bridge he managed to build to reach Jensen by that idiotic stunt he had pulled. The American had clammed up even further, to the point that even Macready had came and asked if something had happened between him and Jensen. The agent had remained professional and that was the problem. It was so clean and cut that their already limited interactions became almost repetitively mechanical: one asked and the other answered, end of story; one ordered and the other followed, end of story.

He wanted to apologize or make amends, but his attempts were either deflected by work-related issues or his target had either escaped or hidden himself from him. It was annoying to put it mildly. He rather tried to fix this privately than ordered the man to come his office and talk about it. Something that he wished Auzenne would take a leaf out of his book. For the past few days, she had been calling Adam to her office constantly, claiming that she needed to ensure that the augmented Agent didn’t lose sight of himself like Black did, and had been prodding him left and right on certain facts that had occurred in his previous missions for TF29. He was displeased and more than annoyed by the fact that the brunette refused to let the man take a break from this constant stream of questioning, if he didn’t know better, she was trying to see how much it would take to break him. For now, it seemed like the American had held on from the onslaught, though a part him was certain that he was near the end of his wits.

_Tomorrow._ He vowed in his mind. _Tomorrow, I’ll put a stop to Auzenne’s prodding and tell her to focus on other agents._

With that, he landed one last punch on his punching bag and decided to call it a day. He grabbed a change of clothes and towel and headed downstairs. When he reached the kitchen, the computer on the island counter beeped, signalling an incoming call, one he had been waiting for a month. He was mentally steeling himself for another rough fight with Neil, though it instantly shattered his poker face to pieces when the face displayed on the screen was not his ex-husband’s.

‘Susie?’

‘Hi papa!’ the little girl on the screen greeted him cheerfully. Despite the fact that she was bedridden on a hospital bed, Susie always managed to keep a smile on her face and positive view on life.

‘How? Where? Why?’ He was currently too shocked to even properly form a comprehensible sentence.

‘Well, daddy has left his computer with me, so that I can call him if I ever need to and it has your number in it. So surprise!’ the little brunette replied happily as she waved her hands to the screen.

Miller returned the smile with one of fondness and slight exasperation. He guessed it had been so long since he had last seen his daughter to forget how cunning and resourceful she could be despite her young age. Unlike Ethan who was smart and intellectual, a curious little scholar, Susie was more adept at using whatever knowledge she had acquired to create a new solution to a problem instead of looking up books for answers like her brother did. Of course, it was mostly trials and errors, but she got the right answer seven out of ten times. Then there was also the fact that cunningness brought a certain amount of mischievous streaks. He would bet half of his current income that she got the computer through some bit of trickery, because he knew Neil had been intentionally keeping him and the kids from contacting each other.

‘So how is my little girl doing?’ He settled with, because he couldn’t think of a better manner to start their conversation.

‘I’m alright,’ Susie replied as she flexed her hands in front of the screen. ‘Doctor Lily said I am doing better and–’

‘Susie?’ a female voice sounded, drawing his daughter’s attention away from the screen. ‘Who are you talking to?’

‘Doctor Lily!’ Susie greeted excitedly as she moved the computer aside slightly for him to see a middle-aged woman in a doctor’s coat coming into view with a tray of food. ‘I’m just talking to my papa.’

‘It’s alright, my lips are sealed. And I manage to save your favourite today,’ the lady said as she set the food down, which made his little girl squealed in delight at the animal-shaped gelatin dessert. The doctor then glanced at the screen. ‘Mister Miller, I presume.’

‘Yes,’ he replied as his eyes shifted to his daughter who looked as though she was enjoying her treat, but he knew her well enough that her slow chewing meant she was listening in to whatever they were going to say. Well if Neil refused to keep her in the loop, he might as well as let her listen in.

‘I must admit that I’m surprised, you are not like how Mister Mayhew-Smith has described you,’ the doctor said honestly as she tucked a stray bang of her auburn shoulder-length hair behind her ear.

‘Oh?’ he intoned softly.

‘Unlike Mister Mayhew-Smith, you did not request me to move away for a more private discussion, concerning Susie’s health,’ she remarked lightly and her expression was soft, though he heard a slight judging tone underneath her words.

‘The operation is a life-changing one doctor and my daughter has every right to know what she will face, whether she goes through it or not,’ Miller stated firmly. Part of him had enough of people believing that he did not care for his own child’s health.

At his reply, her expression softened further before she said, ‘I must say, I have went though a number of patients who are required to go through augmentation operations, but I have yet to see their family considering their choice and even look for an alternative option for them.’

‘Alternative option?’ Miller repeated the word in confusion. Neil hadn’t said anything about a third option in their arguments, it had always been get augmented or not. Where did that came from?

Doctor Lily nodded her head in affirmative as she continued, ‘Yes. We have not yet considered the possibility of using nanotechnological augmentation to improve Susie’s current conditions, but after careful considerations and further study with experts on this field, we believe it is possible for her to fully recover from her illness. And to have David Sarif himself giving us his personal input in this case, I have to say, you have outdone yourself Mister Miller.’

‘David Sarif?’

Alright, he was lost. Utterly lost and confused as Hell. Nanotechnology? That sort of augmentation was not yet approved in the public. It was a much more hush-hush matter since the Incident, he did not even hear that there were researchers who continued improving this peculiar field. That aside, how in the world did David Sarif fit into this whole mess? He had never even met the man! Why in the world would one of the most well-known experts in mechanical augmentations help his daughter and even give the doctors his own personal opinion on this matter?

‘Well, it is Mr. Sarif’s assistant who has given us the data required to help Susie’s condition, not the man himself, but nonetheless, his data has most certainly improved Susie’s chance of a full recovery from the osteitis deformans with nanotechnology and recent research in this peculiar field also shown that patients do not suffer from DDS rejection syndrome,’ the doctor finished with a smile.

‘Full recovery...’ Miller chewed out the word, barely believing this was happening and half wondering if he was stuck in a stressed-induced sleep and this whole barrage of good news was nothing more than a hallucinating dream of his.

‘Well, I shall leave both of you to your father-and-daughter bonding time and take my leave now. Have a nice day, Mister Miller,’ Doctor Lily excused herself with a smile and a quiet goodbye to the little brunette.

‘Wait,’ Miller called out before the doctor fully left the laptop’s camera range as a nagging feeling scratched the back of his mind. ‘Who is this assistant who has sent you the data?’

‘Well, maybe I shouldn’t call him an assistant. He looks more like his personal bodyguard what with his shades and dark look. I think his name is... Jensen. Yes, that’s it. He has said his name is Adam Jensen.’

***

**A few days later...**

**Překážka, Zeleň Apartments.**

Blue eyes surveyed the dark dreary state of Překážka as the owner walked into a graffiti-covered apartment complex, where the few homeless Augs quickly cowered away from him. Jim Miller had never set foot in the southern district of Prague until today and, in the few short minutes since he had arrived here, he was chocked by the suppressive atmosphere that the rundown district offered and the State of Police’s attitude was no kinder to a natural than they were to the Augs. Still he endured it as he went up the dirty stairs of the apartment complex Jensen lived in. _God, how can Adam accept living in these conditions?_

The whole building looked more like a deserted ruin than a housing residence and the dark weather was not making appear any better. Hopefully, the inside of Jensen’s apartment was slightly better than the conditions outside.

Well, he realized he had spoken too soon in his mind once he reached the American agent’s door, which was busted, and the damage was not done by an augmented hand, it looked someone had forced their way in with a crowbar or something.

Miller sighed tiredly, feeling dreary at all the district had to offer, as he rang the doorbell twice, though with each press from his finger, he felt his chest tightened anxiously as he waited for Jensen to open the door, though after ten minutes went by, he concluded that the Aug was not home. Settling with the idea of waiting in the cold, Miller tucked his hands inside of his coat’s pockets, he lightly leaned against the wall and simply watched the rain drops pelted against the stone. The light drumming from the water slowly drew his memories back to the night when they were arguing in the middle of street. His mind repeating Jensen’s words over and over as he tried to figure out the hidden meaning behind his words, or at least he believed there was a hidden meaning behind them, with how vulnerable he was displaying his emotions in the heat of the moment. How true his feelings were.

Guilt. He realized.

The agent was in Panchaea when the Aug Incident had occurred. There was no detailed information on his involvement with the Incident aside from him simply being present in the heart of the event, but the way he spoke, he might have a hand in what had caused the worldwide psychotic break on every augmented citizen. Still it did not complete the puzzle, because Hugh Darrow had publically told them of what he was about to commit before all Hell broke loose. Jensen had nothing to do with what had happened, it was the act of another man’s madness.

Then again, Jensen had shown that he was the type of man who wished to protect the innocent and vulnerable, save whoever he could and minimize the amount of bloodshed. Perhaps the reason behind his guilt was the fact that he had the power to put a stop to everything, but he couldn’t... or he did, but the backlash that had followed afterwards made him question whether he had made the right decision. Whatever he did, Miller might never know, but he knew one thing, the Aug Incident had stopped. Despite the billions lives of innocent blood being spilled on that day, it had stopped. Miller wanted to believe that Jensen had a hand in putting a stop to the massacre before it had gotten worse than it had already been. That was what he chose to put his faith on. The truth he chose to believe in.

‘Miller?’

The older man’s head snapped up, augmented and natural eyes met. Once again, Miller found himself frozen and speechless. He thought he was ready to face Jensen again, but he guessed wrong. _Ugh, stop standing there like an idiot and just say what you need to say!_

‘Jensen,’ Miller quickly greeted back with a nod as he stood straighter and, unconsciously, gestured to the door. ‘Mind if we speak inside?’

‘Uh, sure,’ Adam answered hesitantly, probably still confused by his sudden appearance at his front door.

As they entered his home, Miller couldn’t stop his curiosity as he surveyed his subordinate’s apartment. Comparing to his, it was smaller and far less tidy than his apartment, though he guessed he should expect that the augmented agent to have an organized mess of a home as he did with his own desk, though he never expected some antique-looking furniture and other miscellaneous objects that one would only find in an old attic covered in dust and forgotten by the modern age. Actually, now that he studied the place a bit more, he guessed the apartment was similar to an attic, what with all the unpacked boxes tucked in a corner, books stacked into piles of mountains and opened and unopened letters and envelops left forgotten on the table. His interest was then focused on the old telescope by the window, it seemed to be a genuine antique telescope, judging by the aged metal it was composed of and its more bulky wooden legs. The antique style objects spread across the room clashed with the modern style of the apartment. How strange Jensen’s home seemed to be a state of a struggle transition, the conflict between the old and the new. An unconscious reflection of his own inner mental state perhaps?

‘Here.’

The sudden voice startled Miller out of his internal musing as his eyes refocused on his host who held a can of beer to him, he accepted the drink with a small thanks and a nod of his head.

‘So,’ Adam started, leaning against his old style sofa and nursing his own drink. ‘What brings you down in Prague’s Hellhole?’

‘You,’ Miller answered as he tapped the top of his beer can. The sounds of his fingers hitting the aluminium echoed in the quiet apartment deafeningly, followed by the click and sizzle from opening the beverage can. ‘You’re the reason I’ve come here.’

‘Why?’ Adam chewed out the word before he drank his liquor.

Miller quickly took a drink of liquid courage before he answered, ‘I want to thank you for helping me and my daughter, Susie. The doctor has told me that she has a chance for a full recovery thanks to the data you’ve sent to them.’

‘That’s Sarif’s work, not mine,’ Jensen quickly dismissed before he finished his whiskey in one swig.

‘But you’re the one who has contacted him, right? You’ve saved my life back in London and now you’ve given my daughter a chance live a normal life without the fear of Aug persecution or worry about supplies of Neuropozyne. I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done. So, thank you Adam. For everything,’ Jim sincerely thanked him.

The Aug kept his gaze away from him as he muttered a weak “You’re welcome” in reply.

The older man unconsciously shove his free hand back into his pocket out of nervous habit and felt the second reason why he had decided to come here. Hesitantly, he pulled out the small card holder and carefully offered it to Aug. ‘Here, this is for you as well.’

The American sent him an inquisitive look before he took the item, he opened it to find a black keycard in it with no apparent marks or indicators on it.

‘What’s this?’ he asked curiously.

‘Uh... well,’ Miller stuttered slightly and instantly cleared his throat. This was not the time for him to act like a nervous teenager and actually act his age!

‘Back in Australia, in my old, old home, there was a shed my father had built,’ Jim started as he recollected some fond memories he had of his father that he hadn’t visited in a while. ‘The shed was his sanctuary. It was the only place he went where he could hide from the world and worked on his woodcraft. Then one day, a few days after he had realized my interest in men than women, he gave the key.’

He pointed at the keycard and stated, ‘That’s the keycard to my apartment, where you’ll always be welcome. A sanctuary or an escape whenever you need it... Whatever you want it to be.’

‘Why?’ Adam asked with his voice filled with uncertainty as his shades retracted to reveal eyes of a vibrant green shade full of questions that demanded answers.

Miller felt his throat dried up in an instant at that uttered word and his heart beat a little faster as their eyes met. He was actually starting to get cold feet. He gulped nervously as he averted his gaze before he softly confessed, ‘I admit that I have... grown fond of you, Adam.’

Well, not outright saying that he loved him, but close enough...

The confession had drained all noises in the apartment and filled Miller with a sense of dread as well. This was certainly the worst love confession he had ever committed, worse than the one he had done with Neil. Then again, he had known for certain of Neil’s sexual orientation towards guys before he had made the leap of faith. Adam, on the other hand, might be the first straight guy that he had confessed to and this scared him more than he had expected as he felt the odd palpitations in his ribcage.

When silence persisted, Miller’s courage and calm waned as his fear and uncertainty festered in their place. Maybe he shouldn’t have been honest with his feelings and stick to friendship instead. After all, Adam’s previous relationship had been with one Doctor Megan Reed. That alone should have told him that his interests laid more on females than males and he did not show much interests in males, unless it was a brawl he was looking for. With a sigh, he finished up his drink in one swig before he took his leave, leaving the still shock Aug in his living room.

The next day, Adam Jensen had taken a week of sick leave.

Miller pressed his hands into his face at the news. _Great. I’ve made it worst... Wonderful..._

***

**One week and one day later...**

**Prague. 33 Hlavni Apartments.**

Jim let out a tired sigh as he trekked up the stairs to his apartment with a bag of groceries in one hand and in the other was a bag of liquors. Jensen was supposed to report in today, but he didn’t and no one had been able to contact him through his infolink. What was worst was the fact that it seemed like he was the only one who was worried by the fact that Jensen didn’t come in, Macready kept telling him that it was a normal pattern with the augmented agent and that he would pop in the next day. Of course, his friend said that without knowing what had occurred between him and Adam a week ago.

He really needed to go see a private psychologist to deal with his sudden midlife crisis before he scared off the Aug for good or got reported for inappropriate work conducts.

Miller sighed as he pressed his keycard on the scanner and opened the door with a nudge from his feet once he had heard the beep and the clank from the lock’s release. He let himself go on automatic the moment he stepped into his home, removing his shoes and coat before heading to the kitchen to put everything in place. He was going to head upstairs and change when his eyes caught a huge black form on his sofa. When he realized what the form was, he stood frozen at the bottom of the stairs and stared at it.

Adam Jensen, who had been AWOL for the entire day, was curled up on his sofa and slept soundly from the looks of it. Miller carefully approached the sleeping Aug, part of him wanting to shake him awake and demand what the Hell he was doing in his apartment when he noticed some wears and tears on the usually well-kept black augmented limbs and some smudges of dirt on the man’s relaxed face. Did something happened during that week of absent? Was he hurt? Was that why he didn’t report in today?

Suppressing his questions, Jim quietly left and went as fast as he could on tip-toe to fetch a wet towel and the box he had left in a dusty corner underneath his desk upstairs. Inside the box was a bunch of medical items that were designed specifically for augmented people and some repair kits as well, he had been saving them up in case Susie had to go through the augmentation surgery. He quickly went back downstairs and knelt beside the sleeping man. With great care, he gently dabbed the wet cloth over the Aug’s dirty face and cleaned the pale skin of dirt, finding faint bruises and healing cuts.

_God... What has happened to you_ _Adam?_ Jim thought with a frown. He set the cloth aside and sought the scanner in the box and plugged it into a partially-hidden port in the arm, waiting for the machine to finish checking the Aug’s body for injuries and malfunctions. The more logical tactician part of him told him that he should have brought him to TF29 and let Dr. Philips look over him for a more thorough checkup, but if Adam chose to hide in his apartment instead of going to base, he guessed the Aug didn’t want anyone to question how he got all these wears and tears. The machine let out a loud beep, snapping him out of his reveries and waking the agent up from his slumber.

‘Evening,’ Miller greeted when the augmented green eyes focused on him before he went to check what the scanner had found. Thankfully, it seemed like nothing was damaged, instead it was just low energy supply, the rest of his body just required rest or a small injection of Hypostim to fix. He rummaged through the box and pulled a few Biocells.

‘Thanks,’ Adam intoned tiredly while his barely focused eyes observed Jim pulled out the scanner’s plug to insert a Biocell in its place.

‘You’re welcome,’ Jim replied automatically as he carefully returned everything back into the box before he set it aside and sat down with his back against the sofa, turning the TV on to have something else to focus on. A peaceful quiet settled between them as Picus’ news reporter droned on and on in the background, neither of them really focused on what was being told.

The silence was soon broken by Adam who asked, ‘Aren’t you curious?’

Miller looked over his shoulder to stare at the Aug before he shrugged and replied, ‘It’s none of my business what you do in your personal time. And seeing that you didn’t go to your handler or TF29, I don’t think you want anyone to ask what has happened to you.’

Adam was quiet at his answer, a mistrustful frown on his face, and Jim simply returned to stare at the TV screen, but he did catch the faint thank you from the Aug before even puffs of air hit the back of his neck, telling him that the agent had fallen asleep once more.

‘You’re welcome,’ Miller whispered with a small smile.

***

After that, it seemed like Adam had accepted him as someone he could trust. At work, things were always professional, they worked on their given assignments and stopped terrorisms wherever they came. In their private time, the Aug had started to visit him, at least once a day in a week, just keeping each other’s company in silence. Jim didn’t mind the weekly visit. It was nice to actually have someone around, even if it was just for a day, and he enjoyed seeing the agent without his shades more.

Then the one day turned into two. Afterwards half a week. Eventually, his apartment had gained a new inhabitant and he was more than happy to have Jensen around. Of course, the correct term of their relationship was still ambiguous, seeing that they were not officially lovers or friends with benefits.

‘Jim?’

Miller snapped out of his thought before he looked down to see a pair of augmented eyes staring at him curiously.

‘Yes, Adam?’

‘You’re lost in thoughts again,’ Adam remarked with a small smile before he returned to his book with their shoulder brushing. They were relaxing in his reading spot under the staircase.

‘Just thinking of the time it has taken us to get to now,’ Miller told him, looking around his apartment at the new additions in his household.

A new bookshelf was placed in a corner next to the TV, full of books on astronomy, a favourite subject of Adam who had once dreamed to become an astronaut until he found a better calling in fighting crime, though he still retrained the same innocent love for outer space. The reason why that bookshelf was brought started with Adam bringing of his own book to read during his visits, then he brought some more over and forget some. Eventually he had left enough of his books in his apartment that Miller decided to buy a bookshelf to hold Adam’s books.

A new desk was placed near the staircase with different disassembled watches and gadgets, Adam’s personal Zen spot in his home. Apparently, it was a hobby he had picked up from his therapy after the terrorist attack on Sarif Industry, the doctor had suggested that he studied machinery to understand more of his augmented limbs. The agent had eventually came to rely on it as a stress relief and it became a personal interest on technology.

An antique coat hanger stand with both of their coat hanging on it. Odd and out of place in his modern apartment just like its owner. A modern cyborg with a love for the aged objects.

The newest addition that drew his attention the most was the new note board hanging next to the sofa, where their notes, letters, cards and postcards are pinned and displayed on it. It made him feel like the apartment was truly his home for the first time since he came to Prague. Their home...

Adam chuckled lightly.

‘What?’ Jim asked.

‘We did act like love struck idiots, didn’t we?’ Adam answered, still smiling.

‘Well...’ Miller coughed nervously. Unsure in how to respond to that and uncertain on how to react to Adam’s sudden strange behaviour. Sure, he had seen the Aug smiled before, but his smiles were usually small when genuine or had a sarcastic edge on the corners. Never had he seen the American smiled in this carefree manner that bordered on teasing.

Besides... they had never actually or officially discussed what their current relationship even was...

Technically speaking, they would be considered as a couple from a third-person perspective, but Adam had never actually spent the night with him and he still had his own apartment despite spending more here than there. So, Jim guessed they were more... roommates than lovers... And the thought sounded a lot more disappointing than he had expected it would... Also, it was not like he could just outright ask Jensen what kind of bloody relationship they were actually in!

Miller was so distracted by his own internal questioning that he didn’t notice Jensen had moved until he felt cool alloy fingers touched his face and a pair of lips planted firmly on his.

He was frozen on the spot. Hands paralyzed and mind blanked by the simple kiss.

When Adam pulled away, he still had a teasing edge on his smile as he asked, ‘Does that solve the question that has been giving you a permanent frown?’

‘I... uh... Yes...?’ Jim replied hesitantly as his face flushed at being taken off guard in such a manner and returned said confession in such a fumbling manner.

His response brought another chuckle from the Aug who brought their forehead together in a tender manner that was usually reserved between lovers. The closeness allowed him to see Adam’s mechanical eyes in greater details. They showed him the sincere feelings of their owner’s soul, yet he could also see that there were shadows of secrets hidden behind them.

Their relationship would forever be one that was fragilely balanced between actual love and simple companionship until Adam finally shared the secrets he had buried, but Jim rather respected the Aug and allowed him to keep his secrets than pushed him to reveal whatever he had been hiding from him. After all, relationships were always built on trust. He wanted to believe that one day, Adam would trust him enough to share whatever burdened him, what waked him deep in the night and what made him lost track of reality at times.

For now... James “Jim” Miller was satisfied with their odd relationship. For he had found what his mother had told him he would one day discovered on his own. The opened window of one’s soul. Adam’s eyes might hold secrets he was unwilling to share, but he was willing to let him in when he had kept many out.

Those eyes staring into his...

It was enough for him...


End file.
